After a traffic accident on Nov. 17, 2017 with another motorist in Fairfax County, Bijan Ghaisar, 25, was shot and killed by two U.S. Park Police officers.
The other motorist had called 9-1-1, and Ghaisar, who was unarmed, was pursued in his vehicle by U.S. Park Police officers Alejandro Amaya and Lucas Vinyard. They fired 10 shots at him. Dashboard footage from the Fairfax County Police Department recorded video of the shooting. Ghaisar later died in the hospital of the wounds he sustained in the shooting.
A year ago, on the sixth anniversary of Ghaisar’s death, U.S. Reps. Don Beyer and Jennifer Wexton of Virginia and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton of Washington D.C. requested a review by the Department of the Interior of the case.
The department’s review has determined that the U.S. Park Police officers did not violate procedure.
U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, and Beyer responded with a statement on Tuesday that Ghaisar’s death remains a tragedy.
“Despite the OIG’s findings that the officers who killed Bijan Ghaisar did not seemingly violate written U.S. Park Police policy and procedure in place at the time, it’s clear this incident should never have occurred. U.S. Park Police policy at the time of Bijan’s killing was outdated and inconsistent with the goal of safeguarding lives. This report – which we first requested more than two years ago – underscores that these officers’ actions would not have been acceptable under the DOI guidelines that govern vehicular pursuits today. As we approach the seven-year anniversary of Bijan’s death, we will continue to urge DOI to put policies in place to ensure that investigations around use of force incidents are handled with greater urgency and transparency.”
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Rebecca Barnabi
