U.S. Park Police

Dog critically injured in hit-and-run crash on GW Parkway, driver sought

Published March 30, 2026 at 1:45PM

Buck, a 2-year-old Australian shepherd, at Belle Haven Animal Medical Centre after he was seriously injured in a hit-and-run crash (photos courtesy Alicia Naylor)

A Belle Haven family is turning to the community for information and financial support after their beloved dog was seriously injured in a hit-and-run crash on the George Washington Memorial Parkway earlier this month.

Owner Alicia Naylor was plastering her Belle View neighborhood with flyers for Buck — a 2-year-old Australian shepherd who went missing after slipping out of his harness around 8 p.m. the previous night — when she received a call that he had been struck by a driver at approximately 5:30 p.m. on March 12.

News

State, federal legislators look to address speed enforcement on GW Parkway

By Angela Woolsey

Published December 18, 2025 at 10:15AM | Updated December 23, 2025 at 1:44PM

Southbound traffic on the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Belle Haven (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Lawmakers who represent southeastern Fairfax County at both the state and federal levels are looking to clear the way for increased speed enforcement on the George Washington Memorial Parkway.

Rep. Don Beyer unveiled legislation yesterday (Wednesday) to authorize revenue generated by any speed cameras on roads maintained by the National Park Service, such as the GW Parkway, to be used for speed camera installations, maintenance and construction projects on those same roads.

News

BREAKING: Two people killed by trees falling on cars in Fairfax County

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 16, 2025 at 7:30PM | Updated May 16, 2025 at 7:51PM

Fairfax County police car lights flashing (file photo)

The storms passing through the D.C. area this evening (Friday) have claimed two lives as a result of trees falling on cars, police say.

Frye Road has been closed between Manor Drive and Pole Road in Woodlawn after a tree fell on a car, killing a woman, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

News

Park Police officers who fatally shot Bijan Ghaisar didn’t violate policies, report says

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 13, 2024 at 9:45AM

Video from a Fairfax County police officer's dashboard camera captured U.S. Park Police officers shooting Bijan Ghaisar on Nov. 17, 2017 (via Interior Department's Office of the Inspector General)

Almost seven years after his death, federal officials have determined that the two U.S. Park Police officers who pursued and shot McLean resident Bijan Ghaisar complied with department policies.

The report released yesterday (Tuesday) concludes officers Alejandro Amaya and Lucas Vinyard were reasonable in their belief that Ghaisar “presented a clear and immediate threat to public safety” when he fled after being rear-ended by a rideshare driver on the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Alexandria on Nov. 17, 2017.

News

Park Police officers who fatally shot McLean man file lawsuit over ‘indefinite leave’

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 31, 2024 at 3:30PM

U.S. Park Police (file photo)

The U.S. Park Police officers who shot and killed McLean resident Bijan Ghaisar in 2017 are seeking to get out of the employment limbo they’ve been stuck in since the shooting almost seven years ago.

Officers Alejandro Amaya and Lucas Vinyard filed a lawsuit against the Department of the Interior (DOI) in the U.S. District Court for D.C. on July 10, seeking to force their employer to make a final decision on their job status.

News

Police: Construction worker injured in crash on GW Parkway in McLean area

By Angela Woolsey

Published December 15, 2023 at 11:45AM | Updated December 15, 2023 at 1:04PM

Northbound GW Parkway is closed at Chain Bridge Road in McLean after a crash (via Google Maps)

(Updated at 1:05 p.m.) Traffic on northbound George Washington Memorial Parkway is being detoured after a man was hit by a vehicle near Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road) in McLean this morning (Friday).

The U.S. Park Police (USPP) says its officers responded to the area of the GW Parkway and Route 123 interchange around 8:50 a.m. for a crash that involved “a vehicle and a person on foot.”

News

Park Police officer fatally shoots colleague in Tysons, possibly while drunk

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 6, 2023 at 9:30AM

A U.S. Park Police cruiser in McLean (file photo)

One U.S. Park Police officer fatally shot another in Tysons yesterday (Sunday), leading to an involuntary manslaughter charge.

Fairfax County police officers were called to an unintentional shooting in the 1700 block of Old Meadow Road — the Scotts Run area — at 12:20 a.m. When they arrived at the apartment, Jesse Brown Hernandez, a 22-year-old McLean resident, was found dead with “a gunshot wound to the upper body,” according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

News

Bijan Ghaisar’s family settles civil suit over five years after fatal shooting by Park Police

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 1, 2023 at 10:15AM

A U.S. Park Police cruiser in McLean (file photo)

The federal government has agreed to pay $5 million to settle a civil lawsuit brought by the parents of McLean resident Bijan Ghaisar, who was shot and killed by two U.S. Park Police officers in Fort Hunt more than five years ago.

The settlement will allocate up to 25% of the total — or $1.25 million — to the family’s lawyers with the remaining money going directly to James and Kelly Ghaisar, according to court documents.

News

Family of Bijan Ghaisar marks five years since fatal shooting with vigil

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 17, 2022 at 2:15PM

Fairfax County Police Department footage of Park Police shooting McLean resident Bijan Ghaisar (via FCPD)

It has been five years since U.S. Park Police officers pursued and shot McLean resident Bijan Ghaisar in Fort Hunt, ultimately killing him.

Still seeking closure and accountability for the officers involved, Ghaisar’s family will mark the five-year anniversary of the shooting with a candlelight vigil at the Lincoln Memorial in D.C. at 7 p.m. today.

Countywide

‘Saddened and dumbfounded’: Case against Park Police officers who shot Bijan Ghaisar dismissed

By David Taube

Published April 26, 2022 at 3:45PM

Fairfax County Police Department footage of Park Police shooting McLean resident Bijan Ghaisar (via FCPD)

The parents of 25-year-old Bijan Ghaisar, the McLean resident killed by U.S. Park Police in 2017, and Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano have voiced their dismay over Virginia’s decision to drop a criminal case against the officers.

At the behest of Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, the Commonwealth filed a motion on Friday (April 22) to drop the manslaughter charges against the officers. A federal appeals court officially dismissed the case yesterday (Monday).