Two U.S. Park Police officers were justified in pursuing and eventually shooting unarmed motorist Bijan Ghaisar in November 2017, according to a newly-released Department of the Interior inspector general’s report.
Ghaisar’s mother told WTOP the release of the report, a few days before the seventh anniversary of the shooting was cruel and was, “to just dig this knife a little deeper.”
The 35-page report, found that officers Lucas Vinyard and Alejandro Amaya followed Park Police policy in all cases but one, when they pursued Ghaisar’s Jeep, after he drove away from a fender bender on the George Washington Parkway, in Alexandria, Virginia, on Nov. 17, 2017. The officers repeatedly stopped Ghaisar, and attempted to apprehend him, but he drove away from them three times.
Included in the report is a detailed timeline of events, recounting what happened in the 21 minutes between when Ghaisar’s Jeep was rear-ended by an Uber, and when his SUV rolled into ditch, after Vinyard and Amaya fired 10 shots at the 25-year-old accountant, who lived in Tysons.
In analyzing the officers’ actions, the IG concluded the officers followed departmental policy in pursuing Ghaisar, believing he committed a felony by leaving the scene of an accident. The report said the officers believed Ghaisar presented a threat to public safety if he wasn’t taken into custody immediately.
And, the report found the officers were justified and following policy when they drew their weapons and fired 10 shots at Ghaisar.
“We concluded the officers’ use of deadly force against Ghaisar did not violate the USPP’s use of force policy because they reasonably believed the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent imminent death or bodily harm to Officer (Amaya),” who had stepped in front of Ghaisar’s Jeep, at a stop sign at the intersection of Alexandria Avenue and Fort Hunt Road, where the shooting took place.
According to the inspector general, the sole violation of Park Police policy was when Amaya banged his gun on Ghaisar’s SUV during one of the stops, as Ghaisar drove away. The report said the agency’s firearm policy, “prohibits the use of a firearm as an impact weapon other than to protect an officer or another person from death or serious injury when no other reasonable means of protection is available.”
Contacted by WTOP, Jonathan Fahey, Amaya’s attorney said, “The Inspector General confirmed what the United States District Judge Judge found nearly three year ago, that Officers Amaya and Vinyard’s decision to use force was justified.”
Vinyard’s attorney Daniel Crowley said the inspector general “reached the same conclusion as everyone else who reviewed the evidence — Officer Vinyard did nothing wrong.”
Ghaisar’s mother: Release of report near anniversary was cruel
Kelly, Ghaisar’s mother, told WTOP she was not surprised by the findings, and said the decision to release the report a few days Nov. 17 was cruel.
“They made a point of releasing it a few days before Bijan’s anniversary,” said Ghaisar. “They take advantage of every situation to just dig this knife a little deeper, turn it a little harder — we get it, we get it.”
In July 2023, the Ghaisar family reached a $5 million settlement with the federal government, after filing a wrongful-death suit in 2018, seeking $25 million.
In 2019, the U.S. Justice Department declined to bring federal charges against the two officers who opened fire on the 25-year-old accountant, arguing there wasn’t enough evidence to disprove the officers’ claims they acted in self-defense.
Manslaughter charges in Virginia against Vinyard and Amaya, originally filed by Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano in 2020, were moved to federal court and then dismissed by a judge.
Both officers had claimed immunity, invoking the Supremacy Clause, which argues that federal officers cannot be prosecuted for state crimes they committed while carrying out their official duties if the officer “reasonably thought” the actions were necessary and proper.
“It’s clear that this incident should never have occurred,” said Virginia Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, and Rep. Don Beyer, who had pushed for the investigator general report, in a press release. “U.S. Park Police policy at the time of Bijan’s killing was outdated and inconsistent with the goal of safeguarding lives.”
Kelly Ghaisar said the findings by the Interior Department’s inspector general “makes me more fired up to pursue fighting to overturn qualified immunity for police officers.”
In 2018, her family founded the Bijan Ghaisar Foundation, with the goal of changing policing standards, as well as loosening restrictions that shield police officers from legal liability.
“I think in a democratic society, no one should be immune to commit murder,” she said.
WTOP’s Jack Moore contributed to this report.
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