WASHINGTON — U.S. Justice Department officials remain quiet in the case of Bijan Ghaisar, following Thursday’s announcement that two U.S. Park Police officers will not be prosecuted for killing the unarmed motorist nearly two years ago. Ghaisar was stopped after a minor traffic incident on the GW Parkway.
The silence on the Ghaisar case at a press event -- that included U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu declining to take questions Friday -- further infuriated senators, who are now promising to force investigators to talk by demanding a formal briefing on Capitol Hill within the next 30 days.
"I was appalled," Virginia Senator Mark Warner said Friday afternoon. "The way that the FBI and the Park Police has kept this information secret, the way they've treated this family is wrong."
"I'm going to demand, along with Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, that the Department of Justice come up and brief us on how they reached this conclusion, and how they're going to leave this family, with no indication at all of what went into this two-year investigation," Warner said. "Why did it take so long? How did they reach this conclusion?"
According to Fairfax County Police, who released video of the incident during the investigation, Ghaisar pulled away from officers three times after failing to stop in the wake of a minor collision on the George Washington Parkway Nov. 17, 2017.
He was unarmed, Fairfax Police said.
Ghaisar's family will appear at a rally Sunday afternoon at the Lincoln Memorial. Sunday marks the two year anniversary of Ghaisar's death.
The officers involved in the case continue to work for the U.S. Park Police, according to the agency.
