Use-Of-Force Case In Gum Springs Results In Settlement

GUM SPRINGS, VA — A settlement has been made in the 2020 use-of-force incident involving a Fairfax County police officer and a Black man in the Gum Springs area.

As reported by the Washington Post, the civil suit was settled for $150,000 with the officer, Tyler Timberlake, admitting no wrongdoing. Federal court documents indicate the settlement was approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and recorded in court on May 10. Timberlake had been found not guilty by a grand jury on misdemeanor assault and battery charges.

The use-of-force incident happened in June 2020 and was recorded on police body-worn camera video. The video from the first responding officer shows a man walking on the roadway on Fordson Road in Gum Springs. Video showed the first responding officer and fire department personnel talking with the man, later identified as Lamonta Gladney, and trying to convince him to enter an ambulance.

In the video, Gladney speaks with first responders and walks around the roadway but does not appear to show aggressive actions.

As Timberlake arrives in the video, he fires a stun gun at Gladney. The video shows the officer putting his knees on Gladney's back and tasing the man on his neck. Other first responders are seen helping to restrain the man.

After the incident, then-Police Chief Ed Roessler Jr. put Timberlake and other involved officers on administrative leave pending administrative and internal investigations. At the time of the incident, Roessler said Timberlake's actions violated the department's use of force policies and ignore the sanctity of life while the first responding officer, paramedics and firefighters were doing the right thing by trying to deescalate the situation and get him into the ambulance. Roessler's statements against led the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 77 to call for Roessler's resignation, arguing "citizens, including police officers, have the right to due process."

As reported by the Associated Press and other media outlets, drug tests showed PCP in Gladney's system. Timberlake's defense lawyer said the officer recognized the man was on PCP, and expert testimony during the trial linked PCP use with violence.

According to the complaint in the civil suit, Gladney, unarmed, went into the roadway to seek help for a friend who became unconscious and needed medical attention and oxygen. Court documents stated "Gladney was overcome with anxiety and panic which seemingly rendered him unable to comprehend and communicate."