After Release of Video of U.S. Park Police Shooting, Norton to Introduce Bill to Require Uniformed Federal Police Officers to Wear Body Cameras and Use Dashboard Cameras

WASHINGTON, D.C.—In light of the release of video showing U.S. Park Police fatally shooting Bijan Ghaisar last November, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today said she will introduce a bill to require uniformed federal police officers to wear body cameras and have dashboard cameras in marked vehicles. Ghisar was fatally shot in his car by Park Police in Fairfax County, Virginia after he fled a car crash and was chased by officers down George Washington Parkway. Norton said that if it were not for the video, which was recorded and released by the Fairfax County Police Department, the public would not have had transparent access to the circumstances surrounding Ghaisar's death. She said mandating body-worn and dashboard cameras for federal law enforcement officers is especially important for the District of Columbia, where Park Police and the uniformed division of the U.S. Secret Service have full local police powers. Many other federal police also have local police powers near their agencies' buildings in the District.

"While the investigation continues into the circumstances surrounding Bijan Ghaisar's death, it is already clear that federal officers, like increasing numbers of local law enforcement officers across the country, including in the District of Columbia, should wear body cameras and use dashboard cameras to ensure transparency," Norton said. "Particularly in the District, where there are many federal officers, including those with local policing powers, we must ensure federal officers are held accountable to the public for their actions."