New video of Bijan Ghaisar shooting released

The Fairfax County Police have released a new video showing a portion of the U.S. Park Police’s chase and subsequent shooting of Bijan Ghaisar in November 2017.

The in-car video, released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by The Washington Post, was taken from an FCPD cruiser that responded to the Park Police’s pursuit of Ghaisar. A video from another FCPD car, which more clearly shows two Park Police officers shooting at Ghaisar’s vehicle, was released by Fairfax Police Chief Edwin Roessler in January 2018.

In the newly released video, the responding officer is seen driving down Fort Hunt Road and turning onto Alexandria Avenue, where he intended to lay a spike strip across the road, according to the The Post. However Ghaisar’s vehicle and two pursuing Park Police SUVs can be seen passing by the officer’s car on Alexandria Avenue before he can do so. 

The FCPD car then turns around to follow the pursuit, which had already ended at the nearby intersection of Fort Hunt Road by the time he arrives.  Before the he FCPD officer exits his car, gunshots can be heard from the initial volley fired by the U.S. Park Police officers. The FCPD officer can be seen leaving his car with his sidearm drawn; however he did not fire any shots during the incident, nor did any other FCPD officers use their weapons.

Two Park Police officers fired a total of nine shots at Ghaisar, critically wounding him. In the new video, a Park Police officer’s flashlight can be seen shining at Ghaisar as the final two rounds are fired as Ghaisar’s Jeep Grand Cherokee rolls to a stop in a drainage ditch next to the road.

Ghaisar, a 25-year-old accountant from McLean, died 10 days after the shooting on November 27.

The FBI is handling the investigation into the shooting, and after more than one year has still not announced any charges or released any information about the investigation publicly. 

The names of the two officers who shot Ghaisar have not been released.

The Park Police vehicles that took part in the chase were not equipped with in-car cameras. Both the Park Police officers and the FCPD officers were not equipped with body-worn cameras.  

Read the full The Post’s full article here.