[Police Brutality\Bijan Bhaisar]
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton:“Based on the publicly available information, the shooting appears completely unjustified. Bijan did not appear to pose a threat to the officers when they shot him.”
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Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today issued a statement on the Justice Department’s announcement that it would not charge the U.S. Park Police officers involved in the November 2017 killing of Bijan Ghaisar.
“Based on the publicly available information, the shooting appears completely unjustified,” Norton said.
“Bijan did not appear to pose a threat to the officers when they shot him. I urge the Park Police to immediately begin an administrative investigation into the shooting to determine whether these officers should be disciplined or fired.”
Since the shooting, Norton and Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) have introduced bills to require uniformed federal police officers to wear body cameras and to require federal police officers to participate with local and state task forces, regardless of whether those local forces wear body cameras. Since the latter bill was introduced, the Justice Department announced a pilot program for body-worn cameras by federally deputized task force officers.
Bijan Ghaisar, 25, an Iranian-American, was fatally shot on November 17, 2017. The officers involved were named as: Lucas Vinyard and Alejandro Amaya. They were reportedly investigated by the FBI. A video of this police shooting was withheld from public release until January 18, 2018. After the release of the video, Virginia Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, and Rep. Don Beyer, issued concerns regarding the lack of transparency in the FBI investigation into the shooting.
