Kelly Ghaisar, whose 25-year-old son was shot to death by U.S. Park Police in November 2017, will make her first appearance before Congress tomorrow when she testifies before a panel of the House Natural Resources Committee.
Her son, Bijan Ghaisar, an accountant from Virginia, died days after two officers fired 10 shots into his Jeep Grand Cherokee as he pulled away during a traffic stop on the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Fairfax County, Va.
No charges have been filed in the case, but the family has filed a civil lawsuit against the federal government.
In June, the House passed the "Federal Police Camera and Accountability Act," H.R. 3364, which would require uniformed federal police officers to wear body cameras and have dashboard cameras in marked vehicles. House members included the bill in their broader "George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020."
The sponsors of the camera bill, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), said the details surrounding Ghaisar’s death were made public only because footage from dashboard cameras used by Fairfax County police was released.
At the hearing, members of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations are expected to review policies for police cameras governing all law enforcement units in the Interior Department.
That includes Park Police and rangers with the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The title of the hearing is "Police Cameras at the Department of the Interior: Inconsistencies, Failures and Consequences."
Schedule: The hearing is Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 2 p.m. via webcast.
Witnesses:
- Kelly Ghaisar, mother of shooting victim Bijan Ghaisar, of Virginia.
- Arthur Ago, director, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights.
- Jim Northup, executive council member, Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks.
- Larry Cosme, national president, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association.
