WASHINGTON — A Virginia lawmaker is pushing for answers in the deadly shooting of a Northern Virginia man by U.S. Park Police in November 2017.
Rep. Don Beyer,D-8th District, sent a letter to the director of the FBI asking for a meeting.
“I’m just asking for a face-to-face meeting with the director of the FBI, Director (Christopher) Wray to talk about this and hopefully to make sure that this FBI investigation doesn’t turn into something that’s a year long or two years long,” Beyer wrote.
The FBI is investigating the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Bijan Ghaisar by U.S. Park Police along the George Washington Parkway in November 2017.
“I’ve been in pretty regular contact with the agent in charge but it’s now been almost five months and we still don’t know what happened,” Beyer said.
In his letter, Beyer also asked that the 911 recordings be released.
Ghaisar’s family also wants access to the 911 tapes from the shooting scene.
Beyer said that Arlington County, where the 911 calls came in, will not release the 911 tapes because the FBI hasn’t given them permission because it’s an ongoing investigation.
“The feedback I’ve gotten over the last even two months ago was that they (FBI) were almost ready to finish the investigation, almost ready to send it to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. But now it’s almost April and we still don’t know what happened and I know that the family at least is getting very impatient,” Beyer added.
He said the family is devastated. “This is a tragedy. They just don’t understand why their 25-year-old son who had never been in trouble before suddenly is getting shot by Park Police.”
Beyer said he is hopeful that the FBI can give some insight into the case.
He said that residents in Northern Virginia demand transparency and accountability from their local government and from law enforcement.
In his letter, Beyer also asked for a response from his January 30, 2018, letter to the FBI that went unanswered.
