Youngkin grants clemency to a fired Virginia police sergeant who shot and killed an unarmed man
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Days after a judge sentenced a Virginia police officer to prison in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man accused of stealing sunglasses, the state's Republican governor granted the fired officer clemency, meaning he won't have to serve further time behind bars.
Wesley Shifflett, 36, was sentenced Friday to three years in prison after he was convicted of recklessly handling a firearm during the Feb. 22, 2023, shooting of Timothy McCree Johnson. The jury acquitted him of involuntary manslaughter.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin granted Shifflett clemency on Sunday, removing his prison requirement but keeping intact his felony conviction.
“I am convinced that the court’s sentence of incarceration is unjust and violates the cornerstone of our justice system — that similarly situated individuals receive proportionate sentences," Youngkin, a Republican, said Sunday. In his statement, Youngkin referred to sentencing guidelines recommending no incarceration for Shifflett that were proposed by a probation and parole officer, which is a routine practice in felony criminal sentencing.
Johnson’s mother, Melissa Johnson, said she felt Youngkin's decision validated Shifflett's killing of her son.
“Why now do we find it necessary to vacate or not consider the jury’s verdict, and to think that this honorable and fair judge did not sentence within the guidelines that he was afforded to?” Melissa Johnson said at a Monday news conference. “I don’t know where everyone’s coming from — if it's because my son was Black, or because it was attempted shoplifting, or because he’s not here to defend himself.”
Steve Descano, the Democratic commonwealth’s attorney for Fairfax County whose office prosecuted the case, said at the news conference that Youngkin “stuck his face in where it didn't belong.”
“If you care about having a fair justice system of Virginia that’s untainted by outside influence, Glenn Youngkin just spit your face," he said.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that Shifflett, then a sergeant with Fairfax County police, acted recklessly when he shot and killed Johnson after a short foot chase outside Tysons Corner Center. Shifflett and his team at the police department received a report from security guards that Johnson had stolen sunglasses from a Nordstrom department store.
After identifying Johnson, Shifflett and another officer chased him into a densely wooded area near the mall, where Shifflett fired twice at the man.
Shifflett testified that he shot Johnson, who was 37 years old, in self-defense after he saw Johnson reach into his waistband after falling.
The dimly lit bodycam video played during his trial shows Shifflett yelling “Get on the ground,” and then firing two shots at Johnson two seconds later. After the shots were fired, Shifflett immediately shouted, “Stop reaching,” and told other officers that he saw Johnson putting his hand in his waistband. During the trial, Shifflett testified that his “motor functions were operating more quickly than I could verbalize.”
Body-camera video from officers that night showed people gathered around Johnson while he cried, “Hurry.”
Soon after, Johnson can be heard saying, “I’m not reaching for nothing. I don’t have nothing.”
The legal battle leading to Shifflett's clemency came with twists and turns. Following the shooting, the police department fired Shifflett. Initially, a grand jury declined to indict him, but Descano's office received court approval for a special grand jury to reinvestigate. The second panel indicted Shifflett last October.
After his conviction, Shifflett's attorneys filed a motion for Bellows to set aside the verdict. In a January court memo, Bellows denied Shifflett's request, writing that there was “sufficient evidence in the record for the jury to find the defendant guilty of this offense.”
Melissa Robey, executive director of We Black Blue, a police advocacy organization, said Monday that Shifflett's mother called her three weeks ago about her son's looming sentencing hearing, asking for help. Robey, who said she previously worked in Youngkin's administration, said she contacted Shifflett's attorneys, who ultimately pioneered lobbying the governor for clemency.
“Somebody's got to say ‘Enough is enough,’ Robey said, adding: “These guys put that uniform on every single day — they're there for your worst day. When is it time to stand up for them?”
Robey stood with the crowd of reporters gathering around Descano and Melissa Johnson as they described their reaction to Youngkin's actions. While Descano argued that the governor was siding with a “white officer that was convicted of a crime that ended in a Black man being killed,” Robey shouted: “That's not true.” Melissa Johnson called back: “It is true. You're entitled to your own opinion, but keep it to yourself.”
___
Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
© Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
