Video After The Jump
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — Lawyers say a Fairfax County police officer charged with assault after firing a stun gun at an unarmed African American man believed his target was somebody else.
Body camera video released late Saturday shows an officer deploying his stun gun on a Black man, who was walking away from him at the time. The man seems in the footage to be suffering from some kind of medical episode.
The man falls to the ground, where the officer proceeds lean on his back with his knees. The officer appears to deploy the stun gun on him again, this time while he's already face down on the ground. At this point, other officers join the initial officer in pushing the man into the ground, where they force handcuffs onto him.
WTOP Radio reports that both a prosecutor and a defense lawyer for Officer Tyler Timberlake agreed at a pretiral hearing Tuesday in Fairfax that Timberlake thought he shot a person named Anthony, who had an extensive criminal record. But the victim was somebody else entirely.
Defense attorney Brandon Shapiro said the fact is relevant to Timberlake’s defense because it shows his actions toward the individual were not irrational. A prosecutor said mistaken identity does not justify the officer's action.
Tyler Timberlake, an eight-year veteran with the department, is facing three misdemeanor charges of assault and battery for Friday’s incident. On Sunday, Fairfax County NAACP President Sean Perryman called for major reforms, such as a stronger Police Citizen Review Panel with the power to hand down punishments.
Follow Me
}
Comments