Judge denies motion to drop assault charges
against Fairfax Co. police officer
Neal Augenstein |
Despite harsh criticism of Fairfax County,
Virginia, prosecutors, a circuit court judge has denied a defense motion to
drop assault and battery charges against police officer Tyler Timberlake, who
used a Taser on a disoriented man on June 5, 2020.
Timberlake’s lawyer, Brandon Shapiro, argued
the three misdemeanor counts against his client should be dropped because
prosecutors failed to turn over evidence the suspended officer could use in his
defense.
In a July 2 ruling, Circuit Court Judge Brett
Kassabian said prosecutors, in the office of Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve
Descano, “failed to promptly and timely disclose exculpatory evidence,” and
didn’t turn over the names or statements of any expert witnesses who support
Timberlake’s argument that he used the stun gun on a man he mistook for another
Black man who he knew was a PCP user with a history of fighting police.
However, the judge said the prosecution’s shortcomings
in this case didn’t meet the standard required to throw out the case.
“Fifteen months remain between now and
Defendant’s trial, and the court cannot find that defendant was prejudiced by
the delay,” Kassabian wrote.
Kassabian said, “The Commonwealth has failed
to meet its duty to disclose exculpatory evidence timely.”
While not meriting dismissing the case,
Kassabian said prosecutors should be disciplined.
“To turn a blind eye and acquiesce in
prosecutorial pronouncements of purported open file discovery not only
adversely affects defendant’s rights to a fair trial, but also shakes the
public’s confidence in a process that is based on justice and fairness,”
Kassabian wrote.
In crafting a measure, Kassabian said
prosecutors will not be allowed to have an expert witness — who is allowed to
offer opinions — talk about Timberlake’s tactics.
“The Commonwealth shall be prohibited from
introducing any expert testimony in its case in chief related to the purported
unreasonableness and excessiveness of the Defendant’s actions or deviation from
general orders,” Kassabian wrote.
However, jurors would likely be able to hear
from a fact witness — for instance, a member of the county police department —
who could describe officers’ training.
Descano issued a statement to WTOP and said
he’s glad the judge found his office didn’t commit a violation resulting in a
dismissal.
“I look forward to providing a jury of Fairfax
County residents an opportunity to decide the outcome on the case’s merits. I
take seriously the issues raised in the order, have reorganized the team
working on this case, and directed them to immediately reexamine all potential
discovery elements,” Descano said.
Timberlake remains on administrative leave. A
police spokesman said the department’s internal affairs investigation will
continue after Timberlake’s criminal case is resolved.
Va. officer accused of unnecessarily using
Taser contends prosecutors are withholding
evidence
Body cam video shows white officer using stun
gun on disoriented black man in Virginia
Fairfax County Officer Tyler Timberlake was
arrested June 6, a day after using a stun gun on a victim multiple times and
sticking his knees on the man’s neck. (Fairfax County Police Department)
By Justin Jouvenal
June 21, 2021 at 7:04 p.m. EDT
A Fairfax County police officer accused of
using excessive force, including deploying a Taser, against a Black man has
asked a judge to dismiss the case, claiming prosecutors have not disclosed
evidence that would bolster his defense.
An attorney for Officer Tyler Timberlake wrote
in a motion that he has learned prosecutors have not turned over a lengthy
police report, a 911 call, a bystander video of the incident and an interview
with the victim.
The attorney also wrote that the issue is part
of what he contends is a broader pattern with the office of Fairfax County
Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano not revealing potentially exculpatory
evidence in the case and misrepresenting what material it has collected.
“The Commonwealth has repeatedly dragged its
feet and has deprived Officer Timberlake of his due process and right to a fair
trial,” Timberlake’s attorney wrote in the motion.
Descano’s office panned the claims. In a court
filing, prosecutors said the office has complied with a judge’s order governing
evidence, pointing out that it requires such materials only be produced no
later than 60 days before the trial. The trial is scheduled for September 2022,
but Timberlake is hoping to move it up to this August.
Descano’s office also wrote in its response to
the motion that it has provided substantial discovery already, including two
police reports, crime scene photos, hospital records and Timberlake’s
disciplinary records. They say Timberlake’s motion is a ploy.
“These accusations are aimed at distracting
from the fact that the defense is the party seeking to ignore the court’s
timeline,” Descano’s spokesman, Benjamin Shnider, said in a statement. “Descano
holds his team to the highest possible standard with regards to transparency
and will continue to fight any effort to prevent a jury of Fairfax County
community members from hearing this case.”
The defense claims come after a judge
criticized Descano’s office and Fairfax County police for waiting months to
hand over exculpatory evidence in a first-degree murder case against an
18-year-old late last year.
Judge says police, prosecutors failed to turn
over evidence in timely fashion
They are also notable because Descano won
election in 2019 promising to offer defendants greater transparency about the
evidence against them, saying it would make the justice system fairer and
decrease the chances of wrongful convictions.
“Virginia’s rules force defendants to try to
craft a defense without most of the information one would need to do so,”
Descano wrote in his election platform.
Timberlake, who is White, is facing three
counts of misdemeanor assault and battery for allegedly deploying a Taser and
punching a Black man seconds after arriving on the scene of a call in the Mount
Vernon area in June 2020.
La Monta Gladney, who did not appear to pose a
threat, can be heard and seen mumbling incoherently and pacing in circles in a
body-camera video of the incident that was later released by police. Paramedics
and another Fairfax County police officer were attempting to coax Gladney into
an ambulance before Timberlake pulled up in his cruiser.
Descano and then-Fairfax County Police Chief
Edwin C. Roessler Jr. quickly condemned the use of force, and Descano’s office
filed charges against Timberlake.
Timberlake plans to argue at trial that he
mistook Gladney for another man, who has a history of fighting with police, was
a PCP user, was known to carry weapons and had outstanding warrants for his
arrest, according to the motion to dismiss.
In addition, Timberlake argues that Gladney
ignored his commands and actively resisted arrest, a contention prosecutors and
an attorney representing Gladney in a civil case said is not evident on the
body-camera video.
Timberlake’s attorney wrote that his ability
to mount a defense has been frustrated by his lack of access to the case
against his client. Before the current motion, the attorney had filed two
others seeking evidence that he felt Descano’s office should have disclosed.
In the new motion, the attorney wrote that
Descano’s office has had a report by the lead detective in the case for months
but only represented that it had two others that were produced by Fairfax
County police.
He also wrote that Descano’s office
represented in court that it had no statements from Gladney, but the attorney
later learned prosecutors had a video of Gladney giving an interview to an
amateur journalist about his encounter with Timberlake. The defense believes
the video could be used to challenge Gladney’s testimony at trial.
The defense said they have also learned
prosecutors have a video of the incident taken by a bystander that was posted
to Snapchat. They also want a 911 call they say was made by Gladney which they
contend suggests he was on PCP at the time of the encounter.
Descano’s office wrote that whether it has
such evidence, Timberlake’s attorney is ignoring the basic fact that the judge
has set a deadline for the material to be turned over more than a year from
now. The motion accused Timberlake’s attorney of repeatedly attempting to
“manufacture” violations of the order to get the case dismissed.
Black man Tasered by White Fairfax County
police officer files federal suit
One unusual aspect of the motion is the
defense claim that they learned from an “outside source” that prosecutors had
evidence they had not disclosed. The defense did not reveal the source in its
filing, or say if that person was a county employee, and the attorney, Brandon
Shapiro, did not respond to requests for comment.
Under the 1963 Supreme Court decision Brady v.
Maryland, prosecutors are required to turn over any evidence that might help
exonerate a defendant. Timberlake’s attorney wrote in his filing that he thinks
Descano is not living up to his campaign promise. A judge is set to hold a
hearing on the motion Friday.