WASHINGTON — As the FBI investigates the shooting of an unarmed Virginia man by the U.S. Park Police, a D.C. congresswoman is taking action.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., called the chase and shooting of 25-year-old Bijan Ghaisar last November a violation and tragedy.
“But for the video of the Fairfax police, we would know nothing, and now we have a fatality that we know a lot about,” Norton told WTOP.
The Park Police do not record interactions, Norton said, and she wants to change that. She is proposing legislation that uniformed federal police wear body cameras and use dashcams.
“Mandating body-worn and dashboard cameras for federal law enforcement officers is especially important for the District of Columbia, where Park Police and the uniformed division of the U.S. Secret Service have full local police powers,” she said. “Many other federal police also have local police powers near their agencies’ buildings in the District.”
Ghaisar’s family responded to Norton’s announcement with support and said it “looks forward to doing whatever is necessary to make sure that becomes the law of the land.”
