June 8:
A white Virginia police
officer has been charged with assault and battery in connection with the use of
a stun gun on a black man.
Body camera video shown
at a press conference late Saturday shows Fairfax County police Officer Tyler
Timberlake was trying to get the man into an ambulance to go to a detox center
on Friday.
Fairfax County Police Chief
Edwin C. Roessler Jr. says it’s unclear why Timberlake used the stun gun, but
said he was "disgusted" after viewing the footage, which appeared to
show him deploy an electronic control weapon and "escalate further"
the situation.
"The video also erodes
the public's trust of police officers, not only in Fairfax County but
throughout this world," Roessler Jr. said at the briefing. "These
acts are unacceptable."
He says the man has been
released from the hospital.
It’s unclear whether Timberlake
has a lawyer to comment on the incident.
Police were responding to
a 911 call on Friday afternoon in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Fairfax
County about a man "walking in the street shouting that he needed
oxygen," Roessler said. The unidentified man was having some type of
"episode," he added.
In the video, which the
police department released to the public, someone can be heard attempting to
get the man off a residential street and into an ambulance up the block.
Another person, who appeared to be a medic, also addressed the victim, saying,
"I'm here to help you, so tell me what you need."
While the man is walking
on the street, the video appeared to show Timberlake approach and deploy a stun
gun multiple times and put his knees on the man's back. The victim repeatedly
shouts "No!" and says "I can't breathe" several times after
being handcuffed.
Timberlake was charged on
Saturday evening with three counts of misdemeanor assault and battery and faces
up to 36 months of incarceration. He turned himself in to the Fairfax County Magistrate's
Office on Saturday and was released on a personal recognizance bond, according
to the Fairfax County Police Department's Media Relations Bureau.
Timberlake has been an
officer for eight years and was assigned to the Mount Vernon District, Roessler
said. The police chief said he is unable to comment on Timberlake's personnel
history at this time.
Along with Timberlake,
the other officers involved in the incident have been relieved of their law
enforcement duties and placed on paid administrative leave pending criminal and
administrative investigations, Roessler said. The other officers have not been
charged.
Timberlake's
"horrible use of force" will undergo an independent review by the
Fairfax County police auditor, Roessler said. The county appointed its first
independent police auditor in 2017.
The victim was treated at
a local hospital and released and as of Saturday night was "at home
resting with his family," Roessler said.
Fairfax County
Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano called the footage "unsettling"
and stressed the importance of body-worn cameras in this investigation.
"We are fortunate
that this technology was in use in the region of the county within which this
incident occurred," he said at Saturday's news briefing. "Without it,
I fear we would have had an unfortunately narrow and somewhat distorted view of
what happened in one of our own neighborhoods."
The incident comes amid
mass demonstrations across the U.S. protesting against police brutality and racism
following the death of George Floyd on May 25 while in police custody. In that
case, second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter charges have
been filed against Derek Chauvin, the ex-officer who prosecutors say held his
knee on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes.
Chauvin is set to make
his first court appearance on Monday; his attorney has not commented on the
case. Three other officers have been charged with aiding and abetting
second-degree murder and aiding and abetting manslaughter. Attorneys for two of
the officers said the rookie cops tried to urge Chauvin to stop. All four officers
have been fired.
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