November 19, 2021
A federal judge has tossed out involuntary manslaughter charges against two US Park Police officers who fatally shot Bijan Ghaisar four years ago.
The state of Virginia immediately said it would appeal that decision.
US District Judge Claude Hilton issued an opinion declaring the actions of officers Lucas Vinyard and Alejandro Amaya “necessary and proper” in the shooting of the 25-year-old in November 2017.
Fairfax County Common-wealth’s Attorney Steve Descano charged both officers with involuntary manslaughter last year, after the Justice Department declined to bring any criminal charges.
Both officers claimed their status as federal officers granted them immunity from local prosecution, and Hilton agreed in his ruling October 22.
Hilton wrote that the officers were entitled to immunity as long as the officers were authorized under federal law to act as they did, and that their actions were no more than necessary and proper under the circumstances.
Hilton said that both officers reasonably feared that Amaya could be struck and killed after attempting to stop Ghaisar’s Jeep, and it instead lurched forward in the direction of Amaya. “There is no evidence that the officers acted with malice, criminal intent, or any improper motivation,” Hilton wrote.
Descano and Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, who also argued that the manslaughter case should be allowed to proceed, said in a joint statement that they will appeal Hilton’s ruling to the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond.
“We believe that a jury should have the opportunity to hear all of the evidence and determine whether these men committed a crime when they shot and killed Bijan Ghaisar,” they said.
A statement from Ghaisar’s family said the judge’s “shameful” ruling “is another affirmation that the system is built to cover up wrongdoing by police in our country.”
“These officers shot at Bijan 10 times, including several times as his car rolled away from them into a ditch. That’s not fearing for their lives, that’s murder,” the statement said.
Ghaisar was fatally shot after authorities say he left the scene of an accident on the George Washington Memorial Parkway outside the nation’s capital and led officers on a stop-and-go chase.
Dashcam video released by Fairfax County Police shows the pursuit starting on the parkway, then continuing into a residential neighborhood. It shows the car driven by Ghaisar stopping twice during the chase, and officers approaching the car with guns drawn. In both cases, Ghaisar drives off.
At the third and final stop, the officers again approach with guns drawn. When the car starts to move, Amaya opens fire. Seconds later, when the car begins moving again, both Amaya and Vinyard fire multiple shots. Ghaisar was struck in the head four times.
The FBI conducted an investigation that stretched two years before federal prosecutors declined to bring charges. Descano, the prosecutor in the Virginia county were Ghaisar died, then brought the charges of involuntary manslaughter.
At the center of the case is the issue of where Amaya was standing when Ghaisar’s car began to move. The prosecution says the car could have run him down. The defense says the officer was off to the side and was in no way threatened.
A few days after the judge handed down his decision, The Washington Post published a rare editorial disputing a judicial decision. It said the judge’s decision “is plainly at odds with the video evidence, which shows the officers rushing at Ghaisar with guns drawn for no other reason than he had disrespected them by failing to pull over.”
