WASHINGTON. -- The family of a Northern Virginia man shot to death by U.S. Park Police filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the government Friday.
On November 17, 2017, Bijan Ghaisar fled a fender-bender in which somebody else hit him on the George Washington Parkway. Moments later after he drove off, two Park Police officers began pursuing him. When he stopped, the officers ran up to Ghaisar with pointed guns.
As seen on video released by Fairfax County Police, Ghaisar stopped and then drove off twice. As he did so the second time, two Park Police officers opened fire, shooting the 25-year-old.
Ghaisar's black Jeep rolled down an embankment in the Fort Hunt area and the officers fired more shots, a total of nine striking Ghaisar, the family said.
"This is day 259. There has been been a day that I have not cried multiple times, closing my office door," cried Bijan's father James Ghaisar.
At a news conference, Ghaisar said that his son had been his best friend who followed in his footsteps, becoming an accountant and working in his firm.
Then, on November 17, Bijan was in a coma in the hospital. The family didn't know why until they saw it on the news.
"Two hundred and fifty nine days ago, my Bijan was unlawfully chased by two reckless Park Police officers and eventually shot by them nine times. To date, we don't know the name of these officers and why they committed this crime," James Ghaisar said.
Bijan drove away from a minor fender bender in which he was the victim and no one was hurt. Arlington County refused has to release the 9-1-1 call, but Fairfax County Police, uninvolved in the shooting, did release the dash cam video.
"For those who haven't seen the dash cam video of my brother being executed, his car slowly rolled forward, away from the officers, they opened fire and shot at him, a total of nine times, at close range in four separate instances," said Bijan's sister Negeen Ghaisar. "First there were two shots. They paused, then shot at him again, three more times. There's another pause. A little longer. Followed by two more shots. They holster their guns as his presumable lifeless body lets go of the brake and rolls over the embankment, at which point one of the officers upholstery his gun and fires off two more shots. Aimed at his head again."
The family said Bijan was shot four times in the head and once in the wrist.
"The U.S. Park Police murdered my family as I knew it when they killed my brother. And I need then to understand the gravity of that," said Negeen Ghaisar.
The family wants the officer's names, and the rationale used to aggressively pursue Bijan. They also want to know the charges the US Park Police relied on to arrest Bijan and keep the family from seeing him as he lay dying in a hospital bed.
The family's attorney Roy Austin asked, "This is cruel and unheard of. What is the U.S. Park Police hiding from the family and the public? What is the Justice Department hiding from the family and the public?"
He said the family is filing a federal lawsuit because that is the only way for them to get answers.
"What happened to our Bijan should not happen to any son or brother," said Bijan's mother Kelly Ghaisar.
The family is asking for $25 million to help other families who've lost loved ones to excessive police force, and for better training of officers.
In the lawsuit filed Friday, attorneys said 250 days have passed since the shooting without any information being released.
“Everything about this case, from the chase to the shooting, to the subsequent treatment of the family, has been cruel,” the lawsuit states. “Eight months is too long for any grieving family to live without any explanation about why law enforcement officers killed their son and brother while authorities sit on relevant information.”
During a news conference Friday, the family asked for justice.
"I don’t think I will ever recover from this for the rest of my life. I am only here to get justice for my son,” said James Ghaisar.
Read the full lawsuit below:
