Oscar Grant
The BART Police shooting of Oscar Grant was a fatal shooting in Oakland, California, United States, in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day 2009. Responding to reports of a fight on a crowded Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train returning from San Francisco, BART Police officers detained Oscar Grant and several oth…er passengers on the platform at the Fruitvale BART Station. Officer Johannes Mehserle and another officer were restraining Grant, who was prostrate and allegedly resisting arrest. Officer Mehserle stood, drew his gun and shot Grant once in the back. During his court testimony, Mehserle claimed that Grant then exclaimed, “You shot me!” Grant was unarmed. Grant was pronounced dead the next morning at Highland Hospital in Oakland.
The events were captured on multiple digital and cell phone cameras. The footage was disseminated to media outlets and to various websites, where it was watched hundreds of thousands of times. The following days saw both peaceful and violent protests.
The shooting has been variously labeled an involuntary manslaughter and an execution. On January 13, Alameda County prosecutors charged Mehserle with murder for the shooting. He resigned his position and pled not guilty. The trial began on June 10, 2010. Michael Rains, Mehserle’s criminal defense attorney, has claimed Mehserle intended to fire his Taser, but mistakenly shot Grant with a pistol when he thought Grant was reaching for a gun. Pretrial filings argue that his client did not commit first-degree murder and asked a Los Angeles judge to instruct the jury to limit its deliberations to either second-degree murder or acquittal.
Oakland civil rights attorney John Burris filed a $25 million wrongful death claim against BART on behalf of Grant’s family.
On July 8, 2010, the jury returned its verdict: Not guilty of second degree murder, not guilty of voluntary manslaughter, and guilty of involuntary manslaughter. The sentencing date was set for August 6th.
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Having spent the last ten years restlessly roving the planet, Melissa Schilling, a published writer and photographer, has spent time coordinating photo-art therapy in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, searching for huitlecoche on the Mayan Riviera, riding bicycles through Patagonia, cooking Basque food in the Pais Vasco and deep-sea fishing off the coast of Cuba. email: melissa@projecthopeart.org
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Its disgusting to see this cowardly hatred driven bart cop and co-cops get away with a gruesome murder.
they took the life of a young man, whose mother suffers, and daughter will never know her father.
a cruel cold blooded racial hate crime. These murderers cannot get away with their hate crime! justice must be served!