Police Chief Calls For Footage Release In Park Police Shooting

FORT HUNT, VA—Fairfax County Police Chief Ed Roessler Jr. has called for the release of footage showing the fatal U.S. Park Police shooting in Fort Hunt Nov. 17. The police chief shared a limited amount of information during a Dec. 4 press conference as the FBI investigation into the shooting continues. The victim, Bijan C. Ghaisar, 25, of McLean was shot three times in the head and died Monday, Nov. 27.

Roessler said in a press conference Monday a Fairfax County police cruiser recorded U.S. Park Police-involved shooting at Fort Hunt Road and Alexandria Avenue in Fort Hunt. The police department has turned over the in-car video to the FBI for the investigation. The two Fairfax County officers providing backup did not discharge their weapons in the shooting.

Roessler did not comment on the content of the video but has called for the video to become public once it no longer interferes with the investigation. He acknowledged that he could release the video himself because it's his agency's property but said he did not want to interfere with the FBI probe.

"The in-car video should not be held until the conclusion of the FBI's investigation, which could potentially take many more months or more," Roessler told reporters. "It's important for the information it contains to be shared with the Ghaisar family and our community so we can all start to understand the facts of this officer-involved shooting."

An FBI spokeswoman said she couldn't say if or when the video will be released, the Associated Press reported.

Ghaisar suffered severe brain damage, his family said in a statement to The Washington Post. His family says he was unarmed and is waiting for an explanation as to why the officers shot him. He was a Langley High School graduate that was working at his family's accounting firm.

"The reason for the murder of our son has yet to be determined though no reasoning could possibly justify the actions of the one or more Park Police officers involved in this unthinkable act," the family's statement reads.

U.S. Park Police has released few details about the shooting, including why the two officers discharged their weapons. Officers were pursuing the victim, who they say was involved in an earlier crash near Slaters Lane and the George Washington Memorial Parkway in the City of Alexandria.

The two U.S. Park Police officers have been on administrative leave since the shooting, according to WUSA.

Image courtesy Ghaisar family