I am Barrie Masters, a retired Army Colonel and father of David Alan Masters who was

killed by a Fairfax County police officer on a rainy afternoon, November 13, 2009, while
sitting in his Chevrolet Blazer stopped at a traffic light on Route 1 and Fort Hunt Road in
Fairfax County, Virginia. He was killed by Officer David A. Ziants who had been
following Davids vehicle for about a mile in his police cruiser before firing the fatal shot,
point blank, though the rear window of Davids car. Ziants had reached into the rear
window and fired a shot that entered Davids left shoulder from the rear travelling
downward through his aorta and heart before coming to rest inside his rib case. David died
almost instantly, and his vehicle then careened across the road before coming to rest. He
was covered in blood. It is clear that Ziants shot was intended to kill David. David was
unarmed.
Prior to the shooting, David had collected about five dollars worth of flowers from a roadside stand that appeared to be on an empty lot. It was 2 days after Veterans Day, David
who was proudly wearing his military uniform and Green Beret, was on his way to put
some flowers on a veterans grave, something he did every year. At the time, officer Ziants
said he knew nothing about the flower incident, he said he thought he was chasing a car
thief. Fairfax County has just released a dashcam video of Ziants slow speed car chase
and the fatal shooting. Two other officers in a separate police cruiser were present at the
shooting. They both can be heard on the video reacting with shock at Ziants actions; Dude
what have you done, and Ziants can be heard saying: You saw him pull a gun right?.
To which, there was no reply.
The release of this dash cam video, almost six years after the fatal shooting, is the first
release of any information by Fairfax County authorities. Countless requests for
investigative reports under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act have been flatly rejected
by the police and the County. The Virginia statutes on FOI give the police protection in
this regard. At least that is their claim. What are they afraid of six years after the event?
In agreeing to release the dash cam video, the existence of which has never been disclosed
before, Chief Edwin Rossler stated: the local criminal investigation has been completed;
the US Department of Justice investigation has been completed; and there is no pending or
threatened litigation. He also proudly said that Ziants had been found in violation of
General Orders prohibiting the use of deadly force and fired. Chief Rossler apparently
thought that there was no incriminating evidence on the video.
If all these alleged investigations have been completed and the officer found in violation
of general orders concerning the use of deadly force, why has he not been prosecuted, and
why have the reports not been released? Any number of organizations could order the
release of the investigative reports: the police, the district attorney, a court and the Fairfax
County Board of Supervisors. I can only call for public pressure to bring this about and to
end this conspiracy of silence concerning the death of my son. I am calling for justice.