Officers who killed Bijan Ghaisar in 2017 sue Dept. of Interior

WASHINGTON — It's been more than six years since two U.S. Park Police officers shot and killed a man in Fairfax County after a car chase. Officers Lucas Vinyard and Alejandro Amaya remain on paid administrative leave. The officers were legally cleared of any wrongdoing, and the case was effectively shut down in 2022.

Now, the two officers are suing the Department of the Interior for a decision about whether they will be fired. The lawsuit claims the Interior Department took steps to fire them in 2021, but nothing has happened since. 

The suit, filed on July 10, says the Interior Department failed to make a decision in a timely manner, and because of that, the officers continue to "miss out on overtime, promotions and career advancement."

On Nov. 17, 2017, 25-year-old Ghaisar was unarmed when he was shot multiple times by the two USPP officers.

Officials claim Ghaisar had gotten into a fender-bender on the George Washington Parkway in Alexandria that night. They said he was not at fault for the accident, but he left the scene. 

Police said the two U.S. Park Police officers followed Ghaisar and pulled him over. Video released by the Fairfax County Police Department shows that Ghaisar took off and stopped two more times before the officers fired nine shots into his car. The DOJ later said those shots were what killed the main.

Police said Ghaisar was unarmed and had no drugs in his car. Both of the officers, later identified as Amaya and Vinyard, claimed self-defense in response to the family's wrongful death lawsuit.  

In April 2022, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares halted the state’s federal appeal in the case, which stops the efforts to criminally prosecute the officers. 

Ghaisar's parents, James and Kelara, sued the United States on the grounds of wrongful death. Last year, U.S. officials agreed to a settlement with the family for $5 million.

According to court documents, in exchange for the $5 million, Ghaisar's parents will release all claims stemming from the events that took their son's life.