Judge dismisses criminal charges against Park Police officers in Bijan Ghaisar slaying
Source: Washington Post
Judge dismisses criminal charges against Park Police officers in Bijan Ghaisar slaying
Officers acted properly in fatal shooting of unarmed man, entitled to federal supremacy clause immunity, judge rules
By Tom Jackman
October 22, 2021 at 4:25 p.m. EDT
A federal judge on Friday dismissed all criminal charges against two U.S. Park Police officers who fatally shot unarmed motorist Bijan Ghaisar in 2017, saying they reasonably feared that one of the officers was in danger, and that their actions following a pursuit of Ghaisar were “necessary and proper.”
Prosecutors with the Virginia attorney general’s office and the Fairfax County commonwealth’s attorney said they would appeal the ruling.
Ghaisar, 25, was an accountant from McLean who was driving south on the George Washington Memorial Parkway on Nov. 17, 2017, when he suddenly stopped in a lane of traffic and was hit from behind by a Toyota Corolla, court records show. Ghaisar then drove away, the Corolla driver said, and the Corolla’s passenger called 911 to report the crash.
Park Police Officers Lucas Vinyard, 40, and Alejandro Amaya, 42, soon spotted Ghaisar’s Jeep Grand Cherokee in Alexandria and signaled him to pull over, but he drove off. On the parkway, Ghaisar stopped, was approached by Amaya with his gun drawn, and drove off. He did the same thing a second time after pulling off the parkway in Fairfax County. A Fairfax police lieutenant who joined the pursuit recorded the episode on his in-car camera.
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/10/22/ghaisar-case-dismissed/