RICHMOND, VA- Last month, Law Enforcement Today reported on the unfair treatment of police officers, primarily by leftist politicians seeking political benefit. We addressed the case of Sergeant Wesley Shifflett, a member of the Fairfax County Police Department who was assigned to a specialized retail theft unit.
On Feb. 22, 2023, Shifflett pursued a known shoplifter, Timothy Johnson, in Tyson’s Corner, VA. As Shifflett chased Johnson on foot, he fell to the ground, rolled onto his knees, and reached into his waistband. Fearing for his life, Shifflett fired two rounds, fatally wounding Johnson. It was later determined with the benefit of time (time that Shifflett did not have) that Johnson was unarmed.
You know the rest of the story. The gutless chief of the Fairfax County Police Department, Kevin Davis, held a press conference where he proudly announced he had fired Shifflett, action that violated Virginia law while denying Shifflett due process guaranteed by the Constitution and upheld under Cleveland Board of Education v Loudermill 470 U.S. 352.
While a grand jury initially declined to indict Shifflett for any crime, Soros-funded Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano petitioned for a special grand jury, which returned the indictment Descano so desperately wanted. Long story short, Shifflett was convicted of felony reckless handling of a firearm.
The good news is that Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin saw through the transparent smear campaign and violation of Shifflett's constitutional rights and commuted his sentence only days after his conviction.
In a statement, Youngkin said:
“I have today used the executive clemency authority granted to me by the Constitution of Virginia and communted the sentence imposed on Sgt. Wesley Shifflett who was convicted of recklessly discharging a firearm by the Fairfax County Circuit Court.
“I am convinced that the court’s sentence of incarceration is unjust and violates the cornerstone of our justice system–that similarly situated individuals receive proportionate sentences. I want to emphasize that a jury acquitted Sgt. Shifflett of the more serious charge of involuntary manslaughter, a conviction for which the sentencing guidelines recommend no jail time or up to six months’ incarceration.
“In this case, the court rejected the Senior Probation and Parole Officer’s recommendation of no incarceration nor supervised probation and instead imposed a sentence of five years’ incarceration with two suspended and an additional five years of probation. Sgt. Shifflett has no prior criminal record and was, by all accounts, an exemplary officer. It is in the interest of justice that he be released immediately.
“My action does not limit Sgt. Shifflett’s right to appeal his reckless discharge of a firearm conviction.”
As expected, Descano was apoplectic when Youngkin granted Shifflett a commutation because…accountability.
“Trust in policing is essential to community safety,” Descano said. “When tragedies like this occur, trust can only be repaired by seeking accountability through the justice system, and failing to do so would make the work of our police force–who are as dedicated to community safety as I am–that much harder.” [emphasis added]
Fairfax Soros funded ($800k+) “Prosecutor” Steve Descano is BIG MAD that Youngkin didn’t commute the sentence of the many deserving convicted pedophiles that Descano has yet to liberate from Virginia’s mass incarceration https://t.co/DWE92KAlmB pic.twitter.com/lCPZOB830s
— Virginians 4 Safe Communities (@VA4SafeComm) March 3, 2025
Descano must have had a “come to Jesus moment” because when he served as the commonwealth’s attorney, he refused to seek the death penalty for a man named Mark Lawlor, who killed a 29-year-old woman:
“In September 2008, after a daylong bender of smoking crack and drinking beer, Lawlor entered the Falls Church, Virginia, apartment of 29-year-old Genevieve ‘Gini’ Orange, struck her 47 times with either a claw hammer or a frying pan, fractured her skull multiple times, and raped her as she lay dying on the floor of her apartment, where she choked on her own blood.”
So, recall that Descano bragged about sending Shifflett, an exemplary officer, to prison because it was necessary to restore public trust by “seeking accountability through the justice system.” He held no such beliefs in Lawlor’s case, where in refusing to seek the death penalty, he said:
“...it is a notable outcome because it exemplifies that our criminal justice system can seek justice, find resolution, and keep our community safe while adhering to our community’s values.” [emphasis added]
So locking up a police officer with no criminal record for three years adheres to the “community’s values,” but refusing to seek the death penalty for a monster that struck an innocent woman 47 times with a claw hammer and frying pan, while raping her body as she lay helpless on the ground accomplishes the same thing?
If you ever wonder why criminals in this country have become emboldened, look no further than gutless political hacks like Descano, who coddles criminals while persecuting the very officers that protect us from them, and Fairfax County Chief Kevin Davis who violates the constitutional rights of his officers for political expediency.
Thank God there is a governor like Gov. Glenn Youngkin to add some semblance of justice.
