A federal judge has dismissed all criminal charges against two U.S. Park Police officers who shot and killed Bijan Ghaisar, an unarmed driver on the George Washington Parkway, in 2017.

Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton wrote in court documents that “the officers’ actions were necessary and proper,” and described Ghaisar’s driving as “dangerous,” saying he refused to pull over. Hilton added that officers thought Ghaisar appeared intoxicated while driving and a danger to other drivers. The Washington Post first reported the case dismissal.

The incident began with a rear-end collision involving Ghaisar’s Grand Cherokee on Nov. 17, 2017. Park Police Officers Lucas Vinyard and Alejandro Amaya responded and pursued Ghaisar on the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Ghaisar, a 25-year-old accountant from McLean, stopped twice along the parkway and was approached by the officers. The pursuit ended in a residential neighborhood in Fairfax County.

Video footage from Fairfax police shows that the officers approached Ghaisar’s vehicle and, as his vehicle moved away from them, they fired multiple shots at close range into Ghaisar’s Jeep. Ghaisar died 10 days later.

In a statement on Friday, Ghaisar’s family called the ruling “shameful.”

“Today is another affirmation that the system is built to cover up wrongdoing by police in our country,” they wrote. “This ruling ignores that it was Bijan’s car that was struck, it was Bijan who was chased by these officers without committing a crime and it was Bijan who these officers charged at with their guns drawn — twice — for being the victim of a fender bender. These officers shot at Bijan 10 times, including several times as his car rolled away from them into a ditch.  That’s not fearing for their lives, that’s murder.

Ghaisar’s parents and their supporters have been engaged in a four-year battle seeking justice in the case. Family members filed a $25 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Park Police in 2018. Hilton ordered a stay in the suit in October 2020, claiming that officers would not be willing to testify while criminal charges were still pending, according to the Associated Press.

The Justice Department decided not to charge the officers in 2019 — but Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring and Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano brought the case before a local grand jury, which returned an indictment for involuntary manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm against Vinyard and Amaya. At the officers’ request, the case was moved to federal court earlier this year, in a ruling also handed down by Hilton.

In today’s ruling, Judge Hilton dismissed the charges on the basis of a “supremacy clause,” which grants federal officers immunity from state prosecution if their actions on the job are deemed “necessary and proper.”

“Considering the circumstances, the officers were reasonable to fear for Officer Amaya’s life and discharge their weapons when Ghaisar’s Jeep lurched forward while Officer Amaya was standing in front of Ghaisar’s vehicle,” the judge wrote.

Descano and Herring said in a statement that they intend to appeal the decision.

“We believe that a jury should have the opportunity to hear all the evidence and determine whether these men committed a crime when they shot and killed Bijan Ghaisar.”

This post has been updated with a statement from Bijan Ghaisar’s family, and with additional context about the family’s lawsuit against Park Police.

Previously: 

Case Against Officers Who Killed Bijan Ghaisar Moved To Federal Court

U.S. Park Police Officers Who Fatally Shot Bijan Ghaisar Turn Themselves In To Authorities