Prosecutors are dropping
charges against an African American man who was shot by a police officer with a
stun gun in northern Virginia.
Authorities say La Monta
Gladney was the victim when Fairfax County police officer Tyler Timberlake shot
him with a stun gun last week in the county's Gum Springs neighborhood. Still,
Gladney wound up being charged with being drunk in public and resisting arrest.
On Thursday, county
Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano said in a statement he is dropping the
charges after reviewing the case and determining “the evidence is insufficient
to support these charges.”
Body-worn camera footage
shows Gladney speaking incoherently and walking around on a residential street
while officers try to persuade him to go to a detox center. Several minutes
later Timberlake arrives, quickly advances toward Gladney and shoots him with a
stun gun.
Timberlake, who is white,
is facing criminal assault charges. His lawyer has said he believed Gladney was
someone else.
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