Ex-Fairfax County police officer takes the stand in involuntary manslaughter case

TYSONS CORNER, Va. - Former Fairfax County police officer Wesley Shifflett took the stand Tuesday to testify that he intended to shoot unarmed shoplifter Timothy McCree Johnson. 

Shifflett took the stand Tuesday to walk through what happened the night he shot and killed Johnson, who was fleeing Tyson’s mall suspected of shoplifting sunglasses. Johnson was unarmed, but Shifflett says he thought differently.

Shifflett testified that during the chase into the woods across Fashion Boulevard outside Tyson’s mall, Johnson tripped. When he got up, he was facing Shifflett directly, on his knees and reaching for his waistband. 

Shifflett says he had never been more scared in his life, testifying he intended to shoot Johnson knowing the consequence would be death. That’s what he was trained to do, according to his superior officer who runs the use-of-force trainings. 

But when prosecutors asked Shifflett to identify the exact second in bodycam footage that he shifted from confidently pursuing Johnson, to scared for his life, he couldn’t. From the second Johnson fell to the second he was shot, it was only about three to four seconds.

Shifflett says he could see more clearly than bodycam footage shows. He’s charged with involuntary manslaughter. The strategy from Shifflett's lawyers appears to be that because he intended to shoot Johnson, he can’t be found guilty.

Closing arguments in the case are set for tomorrow.