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Outrage in Oakland After Cop Kills Unarmed Man: Piecing Together the Story

By AlterNet Staff, AlterNet. Posted January 14, 2009.


The execution-style shooting of 22-year-old Oscar Grant has sparked violent protests in Oakland and outrage throughout the country.

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UPDATE

Johannes Mehserle, the former BART police officer who shot and killed Oscar Grant, an unarmed African-American man on New Year's Day, has been arrested on homicide charges.

The arrest came as somewhat of a surprise; on Monday BART officials completed their probe into the incident but refused to recommend whether Mehserle should be charged with a crime. Although Alameda County had launched a separate investigation, few expected an arrest so soon. Distict Attorney Tom Orloff stated Thursday that he would decide if Mehserle should be charged within two weeks.

At a news conference today, Orloff said Mehserle was being charged with murder because the evidence shows "an unlawful killing done by intentional act."

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, which broke the story, Grant’s family’s lawyer said late Tuesday night “ ...  the family is delighted, and it will really help with the healing process ... This is also very important for the community. This had to occur; it was almost a no-brainer.”

***

On Jan. 1, Oscar Grant, an unarmed 22-year-old African American man, was shot and killed by a white Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer.

Videos of the shooting, which show Grant pinned facedown on the ground shortly before being shot in the back, catapulted the story to national attention and sparked community outrage that boiled over into violent protests last Wednesday night.

Nevertheless, authorities dawdled in investigating the crime -- Johannes Mehserle, the officer who killed Grant, was only detained yesterday.

What Happened Jan. 1

BART police officers, who had received reports of fighting aboard a BART train headed for the East Bay, detained a group of men, including Grant, at the Fruitvale BART Station. George Ciccariello-Maher, writing in the San Francisco Bay View, describes what happened next:

Several of the men, all young and mostly black, were lined up, seated, along the platform. Some were cuffed, Oscar Grant was not. As he was attempting to defuse the situation, BART police decided to detain him, placing him facedown on the platform, with one officer kneeling near his neck and another straddling his legs.

For some still unexplained reason, one officer, now identified as Johannes Mehserle stood up, pulled his gun and fired a shot directly into Oscar Grant's back.

The bullet went through Grant's back, ricocheting off the platform and puncturing his lung. There are gasps from the bystanders and shock on the faces of the other officers, who clearly didn't expect the shot to be fired. Grant, who was begging not to be Tasered at the time of the shot, clearly didn't expect it either.

But this surprise notwithstanding, the decision was then made to cuff the young man as he lay dying.

A friend of Grant’s, interviewed by KTVU, says Grant had tried to calm the situation and begged officers not to hurt him:

"Oscar yelled, 'You shot me! I got a 4-year-old daughter,' " said Fernando Anicete. "Oscar was telling us to calm down, and we did. We weren't looking for any trouble."

Kristina Vargas, an eyewitness who recorded the incident with her camera phone, relates her impressions of the shooting in a video interview:

When the gunshot went off, I turned to the boy, and saw the smoke from the gun, so I know it was the boy that was shot. The police were standing over him at that point. And I look at the officer … and his eyes are like -- he’s in shock for what he just did.

And you see another officer nudge him on the shoulder and ask, 'Why did you do that? What happened?' And the officer who shot the boy was like, 'I don’t know,' just looking at him like he couldn’t believe what he had done.


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See more stories tagged with: african americans, protests, police violence, shooting, oakland, oscar grant, bart, johannes mehserle

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Keep this in mind
Posted by: Nietzsche’s Bastard on Jan 14, 2009 12:18 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The next time you think it is a good idea to give the police a monopoly on gun ownership.

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» RE: Keep this in mind Posted by: Romantic Violence
Oakland is a very violent city.
Posted by: Irinetta on Jan 14, 2009 1:45 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I used to live there- did live there for 19 and 1/2 years. I moved to Nashville after being burglarized, facing a rape attenpt( stranger) and a purse snatch mugging.

To maintain a balance between those who will and those who won't harm you is a very difficult issue. The young man should not from the reports have been shot. I wonder about the cop's mental state at the time. Was it just a case of one time too many?

There are other victims of this incident in the form of every passenger that was on that BART train on which the young men were fighting. Did they not fear for THEIR safety as well? I believe that they did - and I also weep for their families as well as well as those who must endure the rage of others unjustly as they just try to live their lives. In a stress filled world- this is just one more thing. The other passengers did not know if the young men were armed or not. The last Friday at 5:15 pm that I lived in Oakland-2 cars came around the corner , the passenger of the 1st jumped out and ran towards a crowded bus stop. The second car stopped, the driver got out and shot the first within 100 ft of a crowded bus stop where people were waiting for AC Transit buses. I saw this from my porch. And vowed never to live in Oakland again.

I agree that "A pinstripe suit does not mean that they will not kill you while baggy pants...will" But I am wondering if it was just 1 time too many. Like it or not, psychology does play a part and image does matter. White or black or anything else- if you dress bad, act bad and get pleasure intimidating those around you- should you be surprised if there is a reaction one day. Sadly it might not be the reaction that you want. Respect must be earned. Fear is not respect.

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» RE: Oakland is a very violent city. Posted by: picklebarrela55
» RACISM and "Good and Bad Guys" Posted by: texasrodeoqueen
Update/Corrections to this article
Posted by: divn2it on Jan 14, 2009 7:31 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
this is only in response to the "things to do" section of the article. First, the officer resigned from the force almost immediately after the shooting. He is not and has not been on the job since the shooting. Because he resigned, BART has been more limited in its ability to bring him before an internal review board. Second, the officer has been arrested as of 1/13/09, Third, while the response has been slow, the matter is being investigated by BART, Oakland PD and is also being monitored by the State Attorney General's office.

All of us in the Bay Area need to keep the pressure on for full prosecution of this incident as well as procedure and policy changes that will stop future incidents.

Just thought it was important for Alternet readers to know the current status

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Driving DWB in Oakland
Posted by: shiftjammer on Jan 14, 2009 8:22 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
From 1986 to 1992. I had lived and worked in Oakland. I am a 45 yr old white man. I was a District manager for 10 autoshops. One day I was at our shop on San Pablo Ave in Oakland. And Ken a young black man. Who was my manager there. Told me have you ever heard of DWB. I thought he meant DWI. You know, Driving While Intoxicated. No Ken said, DWB. Ken said, I have 8 guys working for me here. 4 blacks, 2 whites and 2 latino's. And you know that old beat up Ford p/u I asked the company to get. So we could have a company truck to get parts. I said yes, so whats this all about. Ken said, guess how many times my 4 non-black employess have been pulled over an searched, by police. Driving that old truck. He told me ZERO. And guess how many times my black employees have been pulled over in that truck. Since we got it 8 months ago. Ken said, they have been pulled over 10 times. Now Ken was a pretty smart guy. He could see I didn't really believe him. So he called his guys over. And I must say I was shocked. I had no idea that was going on. And the fear and hate in their eye's. When they told me their stories of the Oakland Police. I still to this day. Can't get over the matter of fact way they said their stories with the Oakland Police. To them it was a fact of life. And if you lived in Oakland you either lived with it. Or you moved. And most had familys and couldn't afford to move. Now you might be thinking what IS DWB. For black people it's pretty obvious. For me DWB was a wake-up call, to the disparity of equality in our country. Now I know not everyone is perfect. No matter what your race is. Theres good and simply bad people. But because your Black. You shouldn't have to worry about DWB. DRIVING WHILE BLACK!

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Agent Provocateurs?
Posted by: Fog on Jan 14, 2009 8:56 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
What are the chances the masked white hoodlums were policemen trained to create violence where none exists to give uniformed police the excuse to crack down?

It's not like it isn't common practice these days. Google it.

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» RE: Agent Provocateurs? Posted by: AMERICAN VETERAN
This comment has been removed from the site due to non-compliance with AlterNet's community policies.
The Status Quo
Posted by: foius on Jan 14, 2009 11:52 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
No one should be surprised by the excessive force used in this shooting.
When law enforcement officers are confronted by any group of black males, they are extremely sensitive to "violent outbursts". Moreover, there is not enough community relations training of police officers who are not indigenous to that community so that they can effectively function as an integral part of the community. For those who praise law enforcement officers for risking their lives to "protect" American citizens in their cities, I say, be fortunate that you are not one of the people who have been harassed, beaten, shot, or unjustly arrested. And so....the beat goes on!!!

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What about the 99.9% of bart riders that day that didn't
Posted by: sonofloud2 on Jan 14, 2009 2:01 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
break the law and get arrested.
Don't they have the right to be safe?
The simple fact is that if he had not been breaking the law he never would have gotten shot.

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» huh? Posted by: luzmejor
» RE: huh? Posted by: texasrodeoqueen
The pc police are quite active here
Posted by: sonofloud2 on Jan 14, 2009 2:05 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
You do know that anything that offends a black person will not be tolerated, even words get banned.
Let me know when they ban the word fag will you?

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All Should Seek Peace, Not Agressive Action
Posted by: iris89 on Jan 14, 2009 5:40 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
FIRST, What occurred in Oakland was most unfortunate and should not have occurred. It however highlights what I said on another article with respect police misuse of tasers,
“while I readily agree, some police are over using tazers, they also have legitimate use, and are better than where one suspect in New York City was shot 45 times by police with 40 Cal. Bullets only to be found later to only be reaching for his wallet to show identification. To wit, definite rules should be established by all police departments for when and when not to use tazers.” They are the lesser of two dangers.

SECOND, Something must be done about wanton ridicules insane violence such as recorded in your article, “As the march reached the Lake Merritt BART Station and headquarters of BART police downtown, clashes immediately broke out, leaving one police cruiser destroyed alongside a burning dumpster. Marchers dispersed down side streets to the sounds of police weapons discharging and the sting of tear gas in the air. … Hundreds of businesses and cars were damaged or destroyed, and dumpsters were left burning. The next day, a BART board of directors meeting was filled beyond capacity and overwhelmed with community members expressing indignant rage, clearly feeling validated and empowered to speak up by the previous night's rebellion.” This type of anarchy should NOT be permitted and those committing it should be duly punished and made to repair the damage done.

THIRD, The trying to confiscate evidence by BART police is totally unacceptable. This type of police action must be circumscribed as it is in violation of the constitution what individuals will not be deprived of property except through due legal process.

FOURTH, As I said elsewhere about the Gaza conflict, but applicable here, “The question should NOT be who broke the cease fire, but that of peace. All should pursue peace and love and NOT violence and hate. But many are just fooling themselves, it is not what either the Bible or the Bible knockoff the Qur'an actually say, but how religious leaders ...interpretation of what is written either in the Bible or the bible knockoff the Qur'an that matters and governs actions. It matters not what the Bible and/or the Bible knockoff really say. People go by what they are taught by their religious leaders. ...but what their religious leaders told them. Therefore, it is the religion at fault, irregardless of what their particular holy book, be it the Bible or the Bible knockoff the Qur'an may say. Neither is so called Christianity or in Islam are most individuals actions really governed in any way by what their particular holy book really says, but they are governed by the interpretation of their religious leaders. Thus, knowing this reality, one would be either just plain stupid and/or dumb to even bother looking at a particular religion's holy book and expect the members would conform to it. Take the Rig Vede and find me for example a Hindu actually conforming to it instead of the interpretation given to it by his religious leaders, like looking for a needle in the haystack per K.S. Lal, India's greatest historian.

Hamas is NOT seeking peace as clearly shown by Hamas' denial of the right of the Israelites to exist; whereas, Israel never has denied the right of the Palestines to existence. Nor has Israel ever used civilians as human shields or suicide bombers. Both of these practices show a clear disregard for peace and love of life and fellow man. Both the Ishmaelites - Hamas, and the Hebrews - Israelites should be walking with the TRUE GOD as did Abraham, but neither are.

For details, go to, http://religioustruths.proboards59.com/

An Educational Referral Forum and start learning the ways of peace and reality. If there are any questions or you want to discuss, PM me at this forum.

Iris89

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Law Enforcement MUST FISRT Be Law Abiding
Posted by: NoPCZone on Jan 14, 2009 11:08 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Police are there first to protect the safety of the public, which means the presumption of innocence and respect of all must come first. This us versus them mentality among the police must come to a screeching halt- yesterday and should never have been allowed in the first place.

The heavy handed attitude many in law enforcement have toward ordinary citizens of all backgrounds is steadily getting worse. Shooting, abusing and roughing up those who pay your salary and make up the community that gives you the badge is not wise by any reasonable logic.

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ALTERNET - is there anything we can do about these trolls we're seeing more and more of?
Posted by: sekfetenmet on Jan 15, 2009 7:32 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
they're ruining a great site with insanity and hatred. I know we shouldn't feed them, but in the sense of tolerating intolerance, is the blacklisting angle really a completely indefensible attack on free speech?

"freedom of expression doesn't make it all right" - PWEI

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dysnomy
Posted by: tatamchwh on Jan 16, 2009 2:05 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
"BART police tried to confiscate all the videos taken by witnesses." -- Shouldn't the other officers be arrested as accessories to murder?

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