Park Police officers charged in ’17 death

FAIRFAX, Va. — Two U.S. Park Police officers have been indicted on manslaughter charges in the 2017 shooting death of an unarmed motorist who led officers on a stop-and-go chase outside Washington, capping nearly three years of inquiry into a case that caused an outcry over concerns of excessive force.

Bijan Ghaisar, 25, of McLean, was fatally shot by the officers in November 2017 after a chase on the George Washington Parkway, outside the nation’s capital in northern Virginia, after he was involved in a minor accident.

The charges Thursday against officers Alejandro Amaya and Lucas Vinyard come after years of agitation by Ghaisar’s family.

Some local and federal political figures also had criticized Park Police and the FBI for sitting on the case for two years without taking action or explaining events after widely publicized dash cam video of the chase and shooting raised doubts about the officers’ conduct.

Federal prosecutors declined to pursue criminal charges against the officers last year, saying their actions did not rise to the level of criminality. After that decision, the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s attorney’s office launched an investigation, resulting in the indictments.