A federal judge says a civil suit filed in the case of Bijan Ghaisar, fatally shot by U.S. Park Police three years ago, will go forward in November. Lawyers for the government argue the trial should be delayed, while an attorney for Ghaisar’s parents says the government “should be embarrassed” about delaying justice in a wrongful death.

Ghaisar of McLean, Va. was 25 years old when U.S. Park Police chased him and fatally shot him in November 2017. His parents filed a $25 million federal civil lawsuit last year against the United States, saying Ghaisar was the victim of excessive force. Following an FBI investigation, federal prosecutors did not bring criminal charges against Park Police officers Lucas Vinyard and Alejandro Amaya, who allegedly shot Ghaisar.

Although federal criminal investigators dropped the case, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano launched a criminal investigation that is ongoing. In that county-level investigation, Vinyard and Amaya invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Lawyers for the federal government say that makes the federal civil trial impossible.

In a motion to delay the federal civil suit, the government wrote, “The United States is therefore now faced with defending this case at trial without the testimony of its two key witnesses and respectfully requests a stay of proceedings until the Commonwealth’s Attorney makes a decision on criminal charges.”

Antonio Peronace, Descano’s chief of staff, said the Fairfax investigation continued during the pandemic, but he did not know when it would conclude.

Attorney Roy Austin represents James and Kelara Ghaisar, the parents of the slain Virginia driver, and accused the government of dragging its feet.

“The federal government should be embarrassed that they are continuing to delay any opportunity for justice,” Austin said.

U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton set Aug. 28 as the date to hear arguments for delaying the trial.

Ghaisar’s death drew national attention that has grown since the police killing of George Floyd.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) wrote to then-acting National Park Service Director David Vela asking for details of an internal affairs investigation of the officers involved in the incident. In a followup letter in late July, Warner noted that a representative for the Park Police said no internal affairs investigation of the case would begun until the Fairfax decision was made on criminal charges, which Warner noted appeared to contradict the Park Police’s use of force protocols.

“I am deeply disappointed in the lack of actual information provided in your letter, especially considering it took over seven months to receive a response to my original correspondence,” Warner wrote.

U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) suggested holding congressional hearings, saying, “For far too long, the United States Park Police leadership has been stonewalling, delaying, and in every conceivable way doing what it can to avoid holding its officers accountable.”

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) have also pressed Ghaisar’s case.

In late June, the House passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would require federal law enforcement to wear body cameras.

So far, much of the information about Ghaisar’s death came from Fairfax County Police Department video footage. Austin told DCist that Ghaisar was the victim of a minor traffic accident the night he died. U.S. Park Police and the Fairfax County Police Department officers pursued Ghaisar along the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Video captured by a camera on a Fairfax officer’s vehicle shows Ghaisar stopping twice and then pulling away after Park Police officers approach with guns drawn. The third time Ghaisar stops his vehicle on a neighborhood street and pulls forward, an officer fires multiple shots. A second officer approaches and shoots as well. The car falls down an embankment, and two more shots are fired.

Attorney Austin said race “is something we continue to look at” for Ghaisar, the son of Iranian immigrants.

He looked like someone who they believed to be foreign,” Austin said. “We believe that impacted the way they acted. Had they believed that Bijan was white, they would not have treated him the same way.”

The headline for this post has been updated to clarify the nature of the trial.

Previously:

Local Prosecutor Pursues Indictment In Park Police Shooting Of Unarmed Driver
Family Of Va. Man Killed By Park Police Officers Files $25 Million Lawsuit
Federal Police Would Be Required To Have Body Cameras Under New Police Reform Bill