California BART Station Shooting of Oscar Grant

[JaD]

Surprised this isn't a thread

Anyways this is pretty big and/or nuts here in the Bay Area right now. From what I learned from my brother a while ago riots have been taking place in Oakland as well. It was pretty difficult to see the video for the first time and it's very tragic. This happened a couple weeks ago and I believe the officer involved was just charged with murder yesterday. Think Rodney King, but 3 times worse. (where the victim is perfectly cooperating and is only 22 and gets shot in the back while being held down face first on the pavement by 2-3 police officers)

(CNN) -- A New Year's Day shooting in which a subway police officer fired a deadly shot into the back of an unarmed man has the San Francisco Bay Area demanding answers as authorities appeal for patience.

Oscar Grant, 22, was killed January 1 in a shooting at a subway station in California's Bay Area.

Bay Area Rapid Transit spokesman Linton Johnson told CNN affiliate KTVU-TV in Oakland, California, that the officer is presumed innocent and described him as devastated.

Attorney John Burris called the shooting "unconscionable" and said he filed a $25 million claim with BART on Tuesday, alleging wrongful death and violation of civil rights by use of excessive force. BART has 45 days to respond, Burris said.

"It's a clear shooting in the back that should not have taken place," Burris said, characterizing the incident as a case of "overagressiveness by police."

KTVU obtained at least two videos of the incident and its prelude. One video, which KTVU reported came from a train passenger who wished not to be identified, shows three young men against a wall in the crowded Fruitvale station.

Karina Vargas, who also provided a video to KTVU, said the men had been pulled from the train car in front of hers. Watch the events preceding the shooting

Burris said Tuesday that the young men had been celebrating the new year at a popular waterfront tourist spot, The Embarcadero. They were heading home when police pulled them from the train car.

Some of the young men were handcuffed, but not 22-year-old Oscar Grant. The video from the anonymous passenger shows Grant seated on the floor with his back against the wall.

Grant holds up his hands, appearing to plead with police. Burris said Tuesday that Grant was asking police not to use a Taser.

"He said to them, 'Don't Tase me; I have a 4-year-old daughter,' " Burris said.

The interaction on the video is not audible.

Seconds later, police put Grant face-down on the ground. Grant appears to struggle.

One of the officers kneels on Grant as another officer stands up, tugs at his gun, unholsters it and fires a shot into Grant's back.

Burris said the bullet went through Grant's back and then ricocheted off the floor and through his lungs.

Grant, who has a 4-year-old daughter, died seven hours later, KTVU reported.

"I couldn't believe it. We was already following directions and everything, and they shot him," Fernando Anicete, one of the young men with Grant, told KTVU.

Burris has spoken to witnesses who claim that Grant was trying to resolve the situation.

"He had been telling people to calm down. 'Be cool. Just do what they tell you to do,' " the attorney said.

Johnson said the video provided to KTVU is inconclusive.

There are two surveillance cameras at the Fruitvale station, but a BART official told CNN that no video is being released at this time.

The community is outraged, according to local media. CNN affiliate KRON-TV in San Francisco reported that about 20 people rallied Monday outside BART's district headquarters in Oakland.

"A 22-year-old unarmed father was executed and assassinated, and BART expects us to swallow that the shooting may have been an accident," protest organizer Evan Shamar of Oakland shouted through a bullhorn, according to KRON.

BART says an investigation is ongoing and hasn't reached any conclusions.
The San Francisco Chronicle published an editorial Tuesday demanding answers as well.

"The BART police say that they are taking the investigation very seriously, but they had better find a way to reach out to the public effectively about what is going on and why. Otherwise, public outrage over this case is going to grow exponentially with every passing day," the newspaper said.

BART Police Chief Gary Gee released a statement this week expressing condolences for Grant's family and saying the authority is cooperating with the Alameda County district attorney's office, which is also investigating.

Gee added that BART will complete an "unbiased and thorough investigation" and asked the public to be patient.

"As frustrating as it is, I want to stress that we cannot and will not jeopardize this case by discussing details before the investigation is complete," Gee said.

Gee provided minor details of what preceded the shooting: BART police received a report that two groups of passengers were involved in an altercation as their train left the West Oakland Station about 2 a.m.

"BART police officers responded to the platform at Fruitvale and detained several persons," Gee said in his statement.

BART has not identified the officer, saying only that he has been on the force two years. He has undergone drug and alcohol testing and is on administrative leave, both of which are standard procedure, according to BART.

The officer has yet to make a public statement.

Johnson and Gee say they are refraining from releasing further details to avoid compromising the investigation. Johnson further told KTVU that BART wanted to avoid "polluting the potential pool of witnesses."

Burris, however, said there is no excuse for the use of force on a man being restrained by police. If BART does not grant his $25 million claim or if the authority fails to respond in 45 days, Burris intends to file a lawsuit, he said.

Burris, who served as Rodney King's co-counsel in King's civil case against the Los Angeles Police Department, said he also wants criminal charges filed against the officer.

He is pushing the Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff to press second-degree murder or involuntary manslaughter charges, he said.
Second-degree murder charges would be warranted if the officer shot Grant in the back when Grant posed no danger, Burris said. However, there are reports speculating that the officer accidentally shot Grant, in which case involuntary manslaughter charges would be appropriate, Burris said.

"No one wants to believe a cop would just kill somebody like that," he said. "My view is, this is criminal conduct, period."

Johnson told KTVU that authorities are trying to determine whether the officer who shot Grant accidentally drew his gun instead of his Taser.
He also said authorities still need to speak to all the officers but that the BART officers involved in the incident felt outnumbered and called the Oakland Police Department for backup. iReport.com: 'I'm not happy with the state of the police'

"We need to take our time and go through this thoroughly and try to figure everything out. There's more to this story than this one angle," Johnson told the station.

Asked whether there were developments Tuesday, Johnson said he had none.

Thomas Blalock, president of BART's board of directors, has urged the public not to jump to conclusions.

"Let's get the puzzle put together, and then we'll come to a conclusion," Blalock told KTVU.

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BART shooting victim recalled with joy, tears


Here is the video(s) of the incident

WARNING: Video may be disturbing for some.

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

Wow I can't believe this.

I didn't watch any of the videos, but I'm honestly shocked that I haven't heard about this yet. I am originally from the Bay Area, San Jose to be exact, but I'm currently living in Tennessee just outside of Nashville. But my folks still live back in San Jose, and I talk to them regularly. I'm surprised they haven't mentioned it.

This is absolutely sickening that something like that could happen.

 

[Exploding Boy]

I live about ten minutes away from that BART Station...I take it everyday to school in SF. This is a big deal over here. Its pretty tragic.

 

[Tyrinus]

I didn't see it in the article, but what were police initially responding too?

 

[JaD]

I didn't see it in the article, but what were police initially responding too?

I believe they were first responding to a fight at the station and/or train. Where Grant was confirmed to be a peacemaker the entire time. They didn't have enough handcuffs for all the people at the station, and so Grant sat without handcuffs. This obviously frustrated some of the police with his pleas of not using a taser on any of his friends or him. So they felt the need to restrain him for whatever reason.

 

[louiebling$]

Yea... oakland pretty nuts right now.... I was shocked when the local news showed the footage of the shooting. This is a tragic event. My co worker is from Oakland and she's taking it hard(as in she's pissed).If this Guy gets away with it ill expect it to be like the LA Riots but 3x worse.

 

[Sawyer]

Yea... oakland pretty nuts right now.... I was shocked when the local news showed the footage of the shooting. This is a tragic event. My co worker is from Oakland and she's taking it hard(as in she's pissed).If this Guy gets away with it ill expect it to be like the LA Riots but 3x worse.

Oh, it's gonna get bad. Real bad. There have already been two fairly destructive riots so far. If the guy gets off.... it wont be pretty. But there is absolutely no way the guy is going to get away with it. His weapon shouldnt have even been pointed at Grant in the first place.

 

[psychocheeseman]

that's ****ed up... Cops are meant to be public servants, not trigger happy sadists. That cop better be strung up as an example to other cops that they don't have the right to bully citizens in anyway.

 

[DorkyFresh]

i saw this incident on the net a few days ago and it's really f***ed up. one person on another website theorized that maybe the police officer thought he was holding his taser instead of his gun but i don't buy that. even if that was the case a competent officer should know the difference between a taser and a gun.

whatever the excuse the officer has for pulling his gun out at all, i hope justice is served and he gets his comeuppance.

 

[Heretic]

I love how the police department originally just shrugged it off with "the guy was resisting and caused a scuffle" and then the video came out and they had to just hoped we forgot about their initial statement.

This is probably the worst case of cops thinking they are Judge Dread that Ive ever seen.

No wait, Stallone thinking he was Judge dread was actually worse.

 

[JaD]

So basically the guy's excuse (defense) is that he mistook this

for this.

Was there any need to even taser the guy? Oh my God, just ridiculous.

 

[louiebling$]

Taser him in the Head???? is he ****ing serious?? What kind of lame Half Ass excuse is that???

 

[JaD]

I think the guy is just a complete psychopath. Even if he was going for his taser it's not like it was even necessary, all those kids were seated on the wall talking to the police. Most in handcuffs for crying out loud.

And actually, he shot him in the back louie, and it ended up going through, ricocheting off the conrete and piercing him in the lung. *shakes head*

 

[vindrow]

What reason did psycho cop have for going for his taser in the first place?

He didn't like the way the guy was laying on the ground?

He didn't like the fact that he wasn't resisiting?


And then to come out with a lame excuse like I couldn't tell teh difference between my taser and my gun

I don't see this guy getting away with this, if they don't put him on trial and convict him I would hate to see the aftermath, and he probably wont survive it.

 

[Anita18]

Yea... oakland pretty nuts right now.... I was shocked when the local news showed the footage of the shooting. This is a tragic event. My co worker is from Oakland and she's taking it hard(as in she's pissed).If this Guy gets away with it ill expect it to be like the LA Riots but 3x worse.

My sister's living in SF and is very thankful she doesn't take the BART that far. There were riots going on recently. Not surprised - this kind of incident is absolutely unacceptable, whether the cop genuinely mistook his gun for his taser or not.

I don't think this will end well at all, especially since there were so many witnesses and lots of cell phone video.

 

[JaD]

I'm watching the news right now and they're showing some of the protests (and arrests) in Oakland. This will be popping up for a long time.