Oscar Grant // Current TV

Vigil for Oscar Grant on the 4 year anniversary of his murder

Hassan
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Oscar Grant / Johnannes Mehserle Verdict Press Conference

Hear the reaction from The Grant family attorney as well as Oscar Grants Uncle and a... more

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Oscar Grant's Killer Cop Johannes Mehserle's Receives 2-Year Sentence. Make You Wanna Holler !

Activist Dineah Taha (left) of Oakland and Mary Polk-Sims, whose son was killed in a police-involved incident in 2009, comfort one another as people gather in front of Oakland City Hall on Friday after a judge sentenced former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle to two years in prison for the January 2009 death of Oscar Grant.
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A bare minimum sentence of two years for the police killing of unarmed Oscar Grant falls short of fairness and justice. But it's no reason for the violent protests and vandalism that followed earlier stages in the polarizing case.

The prison term handed down by Judge Robert Perry in Los Angeles where the case was heard means that BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle may be out in a year after counting time already served in Jan. 1, 2009, shooting. The judge went with the lightest punishment possible on an involuntary manslaughter conviction and tossed out a verdict on gun use that would have added extra years.

Mehserle's action was a crime, more than an error in judgment or an accident. Still, the jury verdict in July fit the evidence presented in the case. Mehserle shot Grant, who was pinned down on a train platform and no threat to the officer, but there was no indication the officer meant to kill.

Mehserle's defense did stretch credibility. Worried that Grant was armed, the officer reached for his Taser stun gun and by mistake pulled his service weapon, which he used to shoot the detainee. This explanation took several days to emerge after the shooting, but it convinced the jury that Mehserle acted impulsively.

The power of this case - a white cop killing a young black man - led police to mobilize for trouble and merchants and offices to close early. It would be a shame if the case and the issues of fairness and justice were overshadowed by broken glass and street arrests.

Instead, the case should be remembered as an instance of poor judgment, inadequate training and a sentence that doesn't reflect a serious crime.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/11/05/EDP81G7PAN.DTL#ixzz14TCglJFbActivist Dineah Taha (left) of Oakland and Mary Polk-Sims, whose son was killed in a... more

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Justice Served? The Oscar Grant Verdict

A few months ago, a white police officer in a transit station in Oakland, CA killed a... more

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Mehserle Verdict Leads to Rioting in Oakland

We gathered in the heart of Oaksterdam, the epicenter of our country’s... more

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California Transit Cop That Shot Handcuffed Faced Down Teeenager In The Back Found Guilty Of Manslaughter

A white former transit police officer was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter on... more

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Involuntary Manslaughter Conviction for Cold-Blooded Murderer

A police officer from Oakland CA was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter Thursday... more

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Mayor Dellums' Press Conference on Mehserle Verdict

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Oscar Grant Trial: Bay Area Family Travels to LA

July 2, 2010-- Los Angeles This Bay Area family travels to Los Angeles'... more

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Oscar Grant Trial: Aidge

July 2, 2010 Aidge Luke Patterson stands outside of Los Angeles' Courthouse... more

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US Social Forum Interview: Hip Hop Journalist "Davey D"

Free Speech TV interviews hip-hop journalist and community activist Davey D on a... more

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John Burris dicusses the settlement fo

John Burris dicusses the settlement for Oscar Grant's daughter. by Ann... more

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Climate Change: The Mehserle Trial

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Oscar Grant: One Year Later

Oscar Grant: One Year Later NewAmericaMedia.org YouthOutlook.org

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Operation Small Axe: Oscar, Lovelle, & Oakland PD

YO!TV talks with the Minister of Information JR about his documentary, Operation Small... more

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Operation Small Axe: Oscar Grant, Lovelle Mixon, and Oakland Police

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Oscar Grant’s Family Sues BART for $50 Million

Family members of Oscar Grant, the unarmed BART rider shot to death by a transit agency police officer early New Year's Day, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Monday that seeks $50 million from the agency, its chief of police and three officers.

John Burris, an attorney for the family, had asked for $25 million in a legal claim against BART after Officer Johannes Mehserle shot Grant on the platform of the Fruitvale Station in Oakland.

Grant, 22, of Hayward, and several other young men had been pulled off a Dublin-Pleasanton train by police investigating reports of a fight. He was face-down on the station platform when he was shot, an incident that several passengers recorded on cell-phone cameras.

Mehserle, 27, quit the BART force Jan. 7 and was subsequently charged with murder. His attorney said Mehserle had meant to fire his Taser when he fired a single shot with his pistol.

Burris said Monday that the actions by Mehserle and by BART Officer Tony Pirone, who first detained Grant and five of his friends in the aftermath of the fight, were "more egregious than I initially thought."

The lawsuit Burris filed in U.S. District Court in Oakland on the Grant family's behalf also named Pirone's partner, Marysol Domenici, and Police Chief Gary Gee. The attorney suggested that racism had played a role in Grant's detention and death, an accusation that a lawyer for BART said is not supported by evidence.

Burris wrote that an unidentified officer "directed a racial slur at one of the young men" after they were detained. Grant was African American, and the other detained men were black and Latino, Burris said in the suit.

Dale Allen, an attorney representing BART and the officers in civil court, said Monday that Grant's death was "a tragic accident," citing Mehserle's explanation about trying to fire his Taser.

"BART has been discussing mediation with Mr. Burris in an attempt to bring closure to the Grant family, and will continue to do so," Allen said.

Allen said evidence in the case will show that Grant and his friends "had been identified as having been involved in an altercation on the train" and that officers had properly detained them. He said racism was not a factor in the case and that officers had uttered "absolutely no racial slurs."

Burris said Pirone struck Grant without good reason minutes before Grant was shot, and that Domenici threatened to "tase" the young men in the face. Pirone's attorney, Bill Rapoport, has said Grant provoked Pirone's blow by trying to knee the officer in the groin.

Burris filed the lawsuit on behalf of Grant's mother, Wanda Johnson, as well as Sophina Mesa, who was Grant's girlfriend and is raising the couple's 4-year-old daughter.

BART spokesman Linton Johnson said Monday that a criminal investigation into the actions of Pirone and the other officers on the platform will soon be turned over to Alameda County prosecutors for a decision on possible charges.Family members of Oscar Grant, the unarmed BART rider shot to death by a transit... more

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Oscar Grant Was Restrained When He Was Shot. Protests Continue. Press Conference Video.

Watching Governor Schwarzenegger's State of the State address was like watching... more

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Oakland shooting protest ends in violence

A demonstration outside Oakland City Hall to protest a shooting of an unarmed man in... more

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Johannes Mehserle Arrested in Nevada For Murder of Oscar Grant | Johnny California

San Francisco Chronicle Reports Arrest of Ex-BART Police Officer for murder of Oscar... more

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