Justice is delayed for Bijan Ghaisar — again
By Editorial Board,
FIVE MONTHS into his tenure as the top prosecutor in Virginia’s most populous locality, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve T. Descano served notice that he was closing in on a decision in by far the highest-profile case he faces: the unwarranted fatal shooting of Bijan Ghaisar. That was in May — and still, unaccountably, Mr. Descano has not moved.
Ghaisar was the unarmed young accountant with no criminal record who was driving on the George Washington Parkway in November 2017 when, following a fender-bender, he encountered a pair of U.S. Park Police officers. After a short chase, during which he drove away three times when the officers tried to pull him over, they shot him to death.
The killing of Ghaisar, and the subsequent glacial response by law enforcement, has become a shameful mystery. Despite the existence of a clear videotape, recorded by a Fairfax County police patrol car that tailed the pursuit, the FBI took two years to complete its investigation. Justice Department prosecutors then declined to bring charges against the Park Police officers, justifying their decision with questionable legal claims. Since then, Justice has also made it clear that the FBI agents who handled the investigation are forbidden to appear as witnesses in the event state prosecutors convene a grand jury to seek an indictment, or in any trial.
Nonetheless, nearly all the FBI files in the case, including a trove of thousands of documents, were handed over to Fairfax prosecutors last December. Mr. Descano’s predecessor, Raymond F. Morrogh, tried to seek murder indictments against the officers then but was stymied by his inability to call the FBI agents to testify.
Mr. Descano took office in January, and the case file has been at his disposal since then. In May, he alerted the Justice Department that his office “is now nearing completion of its review of these materials.” He added, “All involved in this matter deserve a timely decision with respect to the investigation being conducted by my Office.”
We couldn’t agree more, but the unfortunate truth is that justice has already been grievously delayed in Ghaisar’s case, and any talk of timeliness at this point must be tinged with irony.
Granted, Fairfax prosecutors could face various legal hurdles if they seek charges against the two Park Police officers. As federal officers, the officers might assert immunity from state prosecution under the Constitution’s supremacy clause — a dubious claim but one for which Mr. Descano would have to be prepared. If he decides to go forward, Mr. Descano and his deputies will also have to find workarounds to resolve problems arising from the unavailability as witnesses of the FBI agents who investigated the case.
The fact remains that the killing of Ghaisar, who posed no plausible threat to the officers, himself or others, was a brutal and unjustified act. Federal authorities refused to rectify that injustice. It falls now to Mr. Descano, who, after nine months in office, has had ample time to weigh his options. Will he do the right thing?
Read more: The Post’s View: Why did Park Police officers kill Bijan Ghaisar? Letters to the Editor: Why is the Fairfax County prosecutor silent on Bijan Ghaisar’s death? The Post’s View: To believe what police say about Bijan Ghaisar requires ignoring clear video evidence Letters to the Editor: Still no arrests in the Bijan Ghaisar shooting: Why not? The Post’s View: Will the stonewalling over the U.S. Park Police killing of Bijan Ghaisar ever end?
