PinkOnBrown Webzine

On Janurary 1, 2009, 27 year-old BART police officer Johannes Mehserle shot and killed 22-year-old Oscar Grant as he was being detained. According to the official reports, Oscar was detained as part of 2 groups of young men who were possibly involved in an altercation with each other. Police officers at some point pushed Oscar face-down onto the train platform, Officer Mehserle stood up and fired a single round into his back as the other officers held him. The bullet pierced Oscar’s lungs after ricocheting off of the floor, effectively executing him.

Here is some citizen video of the event that was broadcast on the news  – WARNING: This video depicts the death of an unarmed civilian at the hands of overaggressive and psychopathic police officers. Some viewers may find this offensive and disturbing.

None of the authorities, including the officer himself, have given any public information as to what is being done or what might have happened in this situation. There is speculation that Officer Mehserle meant to grab his taser gun, but most of the experts that have come forward on the issue disagree with that notion.

“That’s as reflexive as you getting in on the driver’s side of the car (instead of) the passenger side if you want to drive it,” [Florida criminologist George] Kirkham said. “There’s no remote similarity to a conventional firearm. … The Taser is just like apples and oranges.”

The officer himself has been receiving death threats, forcing his family to be moved twice in the last few days. The officer has yet to be suspended, is on paid leave (Update: Officer Mehserle has resigned), and no one involved seems to want to make any statement about the issue. Due to the lack of “official” evidence or information about the event released it has been difficult to figure out the exact line of events that led to the fatal shooting. Luckily, citizen videos of the event have been cropping up all over the internet’s video-sharing sites.

Police on the scene probably had some idea of the trouble that they were in, and even tried confiscating cameras and cell-phones. They denied that there was any official video of the event from security cameras in the area – but it turns out that this too was a lie. I claim absolutely no expertise in video analysis, police affairs, or anything of that sort. But from reading the different accounts, watching numerous videos of the event, and hearing the words of the witnesses themselves it is pretty clear – this was an unjustified and obvious execution, and a complete abuse of police power.

There is a protest planned for today from 3-8 PM PST at the Fruitvale BART station, and another one being planned for Saturday. Hopefully something is done quickly to deal with this travesty, or the people will take matters into their own hands.

UPDATE: There is new, clearer footage that shows the event taking place. It is very clear that lethal force was not necessary in any way, shape, or form. This was murder – plain and simple.

UPDATE (01/08/09):  So, exactly what we thought would happen, happened. The protests turned violent, and rioters began smashing storefronts and destroying cars.

A protest over the fatal shooting by a BART police officer of an unarmed man mushroomed into several hours of violence Wednesday night as demonstrators smashed storefronts and cars, set several cars ablaze and blocked streets in downtown Oakland.

The roving mob expressed fury at police and frustration over society’s racial injustice. Yet the demonstrators were often indiscriminate, frequently targeting the businesses and prized possessions of people of color.

Unrest will only continue until this officer is punished, and severly.

UPDATE (01/08/09): More coverage of what some are now calling “The Oakland Riots”. Here is some video coverage:

UPDATE (01/14/09): Johannes Mehserle has finally been arrested on charges of suspicion of murder.

Johannes Mehserle, 27, of Lafayette was taken into custody in Douglas County, Nev., said Deputy Steve Velez of the Douglas County sheriff’s office. The arrest was also confirmed by David Chai, chief of staff to Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums.