Park Police Shooting Victim Wasn't Armed: Police

MCLEAN, VA—The claim from the family of Bijan Ghaisar that he had been unarmed when U.S. Park Police officers fatally shot him has been confirmed by Fairfax County Police. Ghaisar, 25, an accountant from McLean, was shot during a pursuit on the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Fort Hunt on Nov. 17, 2017.

The reports obtained by The Washington Post include information from three Fairfax County officers who witnessed at least parts of the incident. The reports conclude there was no weapon "in plain view or reach of the driver."

One of the Fairfax County police cruisers recorded video of the shooting, which the police department released to the Ghaisar family and public. Park Police began pursuing Ghaisar after he fled from an Alexandria crash in which he was rear-ended. The video begins with police attempting to pull Ghaisar's car over on George Washington Memorial Parkway and later on a side road. Both times two Park Police officers appeared to approach Ghaisar's car with weapons drawn before he drove away.

The chase ended at Alexandria Avenue and Fort Hunt Road, where the two officers again approach and fire their weapons as Ghaisar attempts to drive away. The last set of gunshots stopped the car, which nearly flipped over into a ditch and came to rest against a stop sign.

According to the reports obtained by The Post, one county officer saw a Park Police officer on the driver's side of Ghaisar's car "start to shoot." The officer heard multiple gunshots and believed two officers were shooting. Once the car had fell into the ditch, the officer saw bullets had apparently struck the windshield.

Evidence from other officers indicated two officers pulled Ghaisar from the car to provide aid after a window was broken. That's when officers searched and found no weapon.

Ghaisar suffered multiple shots to the head and severe brain damage. He died 10 days after the shooting.

The FBI, which is handling the investigation, or Park Police, have not commented on details of the shooting. Park Police did not comment to The Post if the two officers still have jobs.

The Ghaisar family filed a $25 million wrongful death lawsuit in Alexandria federal court. The lawsuit claims the government has not released names of the officers that shot at him, the reasoning for pursuing him for a crash which his car was struck, and the charges that Park Police placed to prevent his family from touching him as he died in the hospital.

The family will mark the one-year anniversary of the shooting with a vigil at the Lincoln Memorial on Nov. 17 from 6 p.m.-8 p.m.

Image via Emily Leayman/Patch