A white police officer in Fairfax County was charged with assault after he used a stun gun on a black man and pinned him to the ground even though the man did not appear combative.
Footage from a body-worn camera shows the officer, Tyler Timberlake, placing his knee on the man’s back Friday.
Timberlake, who has been with the department eight years, was arrested Saturday and charged with three counts of misdemeanor assault and battery. He faces up to 36 months in prison if convicted.
The incident began around 1:30 p.m. Friday, when officers responded to a “man in crisis wandering around the roadway,” according to a statement from the police department. The man is seen pacing on a street in the county’s Mt. Vernon area. The man, who was not identified by police, did not appear to be threatening anyone during the time he was being videotaped.
One officer tried to “deescalate the situation,” the department says. The officer can be seen asking the man if he wants to go to “detox” or to the hospital and encouraging him to board a waiting ambulance with a medic.
In the video, Timberlake begins walking toward the man, tells him to get on the ground and quickly uses his stun gun. None of the officers had attempted to make physical contact with the man before this point, video shows.
The man falls onto the ground, and Timberlake again uses the stun gun. As multiple officers try to place the man in handcuffs, he struggles and can be heard shouting. At one point, he says, “I can’t breathe.” The first officer then responds, “We’re going to get you turned over” and rolls the man onto his side.
The man was treated at a hospital for injuries and then released. He is now home with his family, Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin C. Roessler Jr. said at a Saturday night press conference.
The police chief said that Timberlake’s actions violated the department’s use of force, eroded trust in the police department, and ignored “the sanctity of human life.”
“Our nation is righteously angry at the law enforcement profession,” Roessler said, “As am I. Many departments are not engaged with their communities. The Fairfax County Police Department is engaged with its communities, and we value transparency, accountability.”
Roessler added that he spoke with the victim’s mother to express his “disgust with my officer’s unacceptable criminal actions.”
He has also launched an administrative investigation and said the county’s police auditor could conduct an independent investigation. All the officers on scene have been relieved of duty pending the outcome of criminal and administrative investigations, Roessler said.
Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano called the footage “unsettling” and said during the Saturday briefing he was personally following the investigation.
Descano said he “cannot overstate” the role body-worn cameras have played in the investigation.
“Without it, I fear we would have had an unfortunately narrow and somewhat distorted view of what happened in one of our neighborhoods,” Descano said.
As Timberlake was arrested on Saturday, protesters gathered in D.C. for the ninth straight day of demonstrations over the killing of George Floyd and repeated instances of police brutality.
It was the largest crowd in D.C. thus far, and protests are expected to continue Sunday.
