Bijan Ghaisar's Family Turns Focus To Police Brutality Cases After $5M Settlement

FORT HUNT, VA — The family of Bijan Ghaisar, a 25-year-old McLean accountant shot and killed by U.S. Park Police officers in 2017, has commented on the $5 million settlement reached in court and vowed to continue advocacy against police brutality.

The $5 million settlement was approved by a federal judge during a hearing Friday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. The settlement came after years of the family seeking justice for Ghaisar's fatal shooting by two U.S. Park Police officers in a pursuit down the George Washington Memorial Parkway in November 2017.

The settlement calls for $1.25 million in legal fees, according to the filing. Parents James and Kelly Ghaisar will distribute the remaining $3.75 million to various charities.

In a statement, the Ghaisar family explained the reasoning behind the settlement.

"After years of seeking justice within our legal system, we deeply understand that our system is broken and needs to be fixed," the family stated. "Rather than continue to fight against a broken system that fails to hold most rogue police officers accountable for acts of brutality, we have agreed to a settlement — the proceeds of which will go to The Bijan Ghaisar Foundation and other charitable causes."

The family indicated they will continue to fight "in Bijan's name" for other victims of police brutality. The Bijan Ghaisar Foundation was founded in 2018 with goals of seeking police reforms at the local, state and federal levels and legislation that lifts restrictions on addressing violations committed by law enforcement. The family said there has already been progress in U.S. Park Police introducing a body camera requirement for officers.

However, the family expressed disappointment that the two officers involved in the shooting, Officers Lucas Vinyard and Alejandro Amaya, were not prosecuted. The Ghaisar family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2018 seeking $25 million. In 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice said it would not seek federal criminal civil rights charges against the officers, and the Department of Justice indicated this year it wouldn't reopen the case.

Despite an attempt by Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano to indict the officers, a federal judge dismissed the case. The commonwealth's appeal in the case was later dropped by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares.

Rep. Don Beyer, who represents the area in Fort Hunt where Ghaisar was fatally shot by Park Police, said in a statement he would continue to support the Ghaisars in the fight for reforms.

“This settlement is the clearest admission to date that Bijan Ghaisar did not deserve to be shot and killed on that awful November night in 2017," Beyer said. "The officers who shot him showed reckless disregard for Bijan Ghaisar’s humanity. Yet, to this day no one has been held accountable for that act that left an unarmed young man dead, or for the unacceptable government stonewalling that compounded the Ghaisar family’s suffering and enraged the community I represent. This lawsuit is ending, but justice has never been done in this case."

The family said the public would not have known how the fatal shooting of Ghaisar unfolded if not for dashcam footage released by Fairfax County police. Fairfax County police, who responded to assist U.S. Park Police, had dashcam footage showing police try to pull Ghaisar’s car over twice on reports of a hit-and-run accident near Alexandria. Both times, Officers Lucas Vinyard and Alejandro Amaya appeared to approach Ghaisar’s car with weapons drawn, and each time he drove away.

The chase ended at Alexandria Avenue and Fort Hunt Road, when the officers fired at Ghaisar’s car as he sped away. The gunshots stopped the car, and caused it to nearly flip over. Ghaisar was struck 10 times with bullets, and died 10 days after the shooting from gunshot wounds to the head, according to his family.

Ghaisar had left the scene of a crash in which his vehicle was rear-ended by a rideshare driver on the parkway at George Washington Memorial Parkway and Slaters Lane in Alexandria. His family said he was unarmed during the pursuit.

Ghaisar’s death was marked by multiple vigils in the years following demanding prosecution of the officers, and more transparency regarding the case.