Household lawyer: police taking pictures caught on video was execution

FAIRFAX, Va. — The lawyer for the household of a person fatally shot by police after he allegedly stole a pair of sun shades from a Virginia shopping center referred to as the loss of life “an execution” after seeing video of the taking pictures for the primary time Wednesday.

Household of Timothy McCree Johnson seen the physique digital camera video for the primary time on the invitation of the Fairfax County Police Division practically a month after two officers shot and killed Johnson following a foot chase outdoors Tysons Nook Middle, one of many busiest malls in northern Virginia.

Legal professional Carl Crews stated nothing within the video reveals something to clarify why officers would have fairly feared for his or her lives once they opened hearth.

“If the video would have exonerated the officer, we’d have seen it already,” Crews stated, referring to the delay. He referred to as Johnson’s loss of life “an execution by a Fairfax County police officer.”

Crews stated nothing seems within the video to make it look as if Johnson was armed.

“He might have been apprehended with out a shot being fired,” Crews stated.

The video has not but been made publicly obtainable. Police say they plan to launch it Thursday, simply inside a 30-day deadline set by inner tips.

Johnson’s mom, Melissa Johnson of Forestville, Maryland, stated she has now been thrust right into a depressingly acquainted position within the nationwide information cycle: the mom of a Black man who was killed by police with out justification.

“No mum or dad ought to must view the killing of their little one after which be requested to present remarks,” she stated to reporters outdoors police headquarters after having simply watched the eight-minute physique digital camera video. “Nonetheless, right here we’re, and right here I stand.”

Police didn’t remark Wednesday on the household’s accusations. Final month, although, instantly after the taking pictures, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis described Johnson as somebody with a “important violent prison historical past” who was “completely very well-known to legislation enforcement within the nationwide capital area.”

Davis stated Johnson ran right into a closely wooded patch that made it tough to find out on the time of the taking pictures whether or not Johnson had been armed. Police later confirmed that no weapon was discovered.

On Wednesday, Melissa Johnson took situation with Davis’ depiction of her son.

“Earlier than he took the time to assemble the information, he painted a unfavourable half-truth about our son and the unfolding case,” she stated.

The one factor the officers knew about her son when he was shot and killed, she stated, was “that he was Black and male and had allegedly triggered an alarm from a retailer for some sun shades.”

Johnson had no prison report in Fairfax County, court docket information present. He did have assault and gun convictions in opposition to him in Maryland and the District of Columbia that went again 20 years.

The video seen Wednesday by Johnson’s household got here from physique digital camera footage linked to Sgt. Wesley Shifflett, one of many two officers assigned to patrolling Tysons Nook Middle, Crews stated. The opposite officer, James Sadler, was in plainclothes and had no physique digital camera, police have stated. Each officers opened hearth, based on police.

The discharge of the video to Johnson’s household comes as seven Virginia sheriff’s deputies and three hospital employees in Henrico County, close to Richmond, have been charged with second-degree homicide within the loss of life of a Black affected person, Irvo Otieno, after he died whereas being transferred to a state hospital. Video launched Tuesday in Otieno’s case reveals the deputies and employees surrounding and pinning Otieno to the ground.

In Johnson’s case, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Legal professional Steve Descano, who was elected partly on a platform of holding law enforcement officials accountable, stated in an announcement Wednesday that he’ll resolve within the coming weeks whether or not the officers who shot Johnson will face prison prices.

“I’ve seen and am devastated by the body-worn digital camera footage displaying one more loss of life of a Black man by the hands of police,” Descano stated. “My coronary heart grieves for the Johnsons, who misplaced a beloved member of the family over an incident involving a pair of sun shades.”