In a controversial final act before leaving office, former Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has granted an absolute pardon to a former police sergeant convicted in the 2023 fatal shooting of an unarmed man accused of shoplifting.
Pardon Granted Days Before Term Ended
According to newly released documents, former Fairfax County Police Sergeant Wesley Shifflett received the absolute pardon from Governor Youngkin on January 15, just days before the Republican governor's term concluded. The decision has reignited nationwide debates about legal protections for law enforcement personnel and the circumstances justifying deadly force.
Case Background and Previous Clemency
This pardon follows Youngkin's earlier intervention in the case less than a year ago, when he granted Shifflett clemency and threw out his three-year prison sentence. Shifflett was convicted in 2024 of reckless firearm use in the killing of Timothy McCree Johnson in Northern Virginia, though he was acquitted of a manslaughter charge.
The incident occurred on February 22, 2023, when Shifflett responded to reports of a shoplifting at a local mall. The former sergeant chased Johnson from the mall's parking deck into a densely wooded area. Body camera footage presented during the trial showed Shifflett yelling "Get on the ground" before firing two shots at Johnson just two seconds later.
Governor's Justification and Department Report
In his pardon statement, Youngkin wrote: "The deadly force used by Sgt. Wesley Gonzalez Shifflett on February 22, 2023, was both lawful and consistent with the department's policy and training." The governor based his decision on a police department report released in April that concluded Shifflett's actions were "objectively reasonable" because he believed Johnson "posed a significant threat of death or serious injury to him when he used deadly force."
After firing the shots, body camera recordings captured Shifflett immediately shouting "Stop reaching" and telling other officers he saw Johnson putting his hand in his waistband. During his trial testimony, Shifflett stated that his "motor functions were operating more quickly than I could verbalize."
Soon after being shot, Johnson can be heard saying in the body camera videos: "I'm not reaching for nothing. I don't have nothing."
Family Response and Broader Implications
Johnson's mother, Melissa, strongly criticized Youngkin's involvement in the case last year when he first curtailed Shifflett's sentence. "Why now do we find it necessary to vacate or not consider the jury's verdict, and to think that this honorable and fair judge did not sentence within the guidelines that he was afforded to?" she asked at the time.
The pardon comes amid ongoing national discussions about police accountability, use of force protocols, and the balance between officer safety and civilian protection. Legal experts suggest this case highlights the complex intersection of criminal justice, executive clemency powers, and law enforcement procedures.
As communities across the United States continue to grapple with police reform measures, Youngkin's decision to pardon Shifflett represents a significant development in how elected officials intervene in controversial law enforcement cases, particularly those involving questions of appropriate force and officer decision-making under pressure.
