Malcolm-Che was quick to post on this story three days ago. At that time the victim Oscar Grant was being slandered as a participant in a New Years Eve fight on the BART subway system. Now, in the face of these videos taken by fellow passengers, the slander by the mainstream media has stopped. Even they have to admit that this is real messed up. This video footage is so powerful, as we see the young Oscar Grant – who is unarmed – shot by a police officer in his back while laying face down on the ground. Oscar is seen complying with officers, putting his hands in the air while on his knees, practically begging to live. Malcolm-Che salutes the young man who threw an object at the police immediately following the shooting. This shooting is one of the worst we have ever seen, not to take anything away from the others, but this man was clearly killed in cold blood. This was a father of a child, killed for no damn reason. From Rodney King to Sean Bell, now we give you the horrible police killing of Oscar Grant.
New video shows BART officer shooting Hayward man in the back
Oscar Grant puts both his hands in the air moments before he is shot in the back.
Video 1 (filmed by Karina Vargas): http://www.ktvu.com/video/18406962/index.html
Video 2 (better view): http://www.ktvu.com/video/18406930/index.html
http://www.mercurynews.com/crime/ci_11369592
OAKLAND — A BART police officer struggling to handcuff a 22-year-old man, stood up over the facedown Hayward resident and fired a single shot into his back while a handful of officers watched, a video taken by a train passenger apparently shows.
The attorney for the family of Oscar Grant III, fatally shot by an unidentified BART officer early New Year’s Day, said Sunday he plans to file a $25 million lawsuit against the department and asked prosecutors to consider filing murder charges against the officer.
The shooting occurred shortly before 2 a.m. Thursday after five officers responded to the Fruitvale station to reports of a fight on a train, officials said, though they have not confirmed whether Grant was involved in the fight.
The new video, obtained by television station KTVU, shows two officers restraining a struggling suspect. While the man is lying face down on the ground, one officer appears to be seen pulling out a gun and firing a single shot into his back.
Civil rights attorney John Burris, known for his work in several high-profile cases involving police abuse and corruption, said at a Sunday news conference that the shooting was “the most unconscionable shooting” he has ever seen. He said that the Alameda County district attorney should consider filing charges of second degree murder or manslaughter against the officer.
I’ve drafted a notice of claim against BART for $25 million I plan to submit officially,” Burris said, adding that the officer had violated Grant’s civil rights and caused his wrongful death.
The Police Department is in the early stages of a thorough investigation, BART police Chief Gary Gee said Sunday at a news conference. He declined to discuss many details, as doing so “before all the facts are in could compromise individual recollections and do disservice to the truth and the answers we’re all seeking.”
BART police are cooperating fully with a parallel investigation by the Alameda County district attorney’s office, Gee said.
Gee declined to identify the officer but said he is a two-year BART police veteran. The officer was given drug and alcohol tests before being sent home on administrative leave Thursday, Gee said.
The last BART officer-involved shooting occurred in May 2001, Gee said.
Mario Pangelina Jr., whose sister had a 4-year-old daughter with Grant, said he was on the same train as Grant that night, but on a different car. He said he saw Grant’s interactions with police immediately before the shooting.
“First, an officer grabbed Oscar by the neck and pushed him against the wall,” Pangelina said. “Oscar didn’t fight him, but he didn’t go down either. He was like, ‘What did I do?’ Then another officer came up with his Taser and held it right in his face. Oscar said, ‘Please don’t shoot me, please don’t Taser me, I have a daughter,’ over and over again, real fast, and he sat down.”
Grant was the only man in a small group sitting against the wall who was not handcuffed, Burris said, so officers grabbed him away from the wall and pressed him belly-down onto the ground.
“One officer was kneeling over his neck and head, and another standing over him,” Burris said. “He was not kicking, and one officer was pulling on his arm. The standing officer pulled out his weapon and, within moments, fired the gun into Mr. Grant’s back.”
Burris said the bullet went through Grant’s lower back and ricocheted off the ground up into his lungs, killing him.
BART’s 206 sworn officers attend the same academies and training programs as city police and sheriff’s deputies. According to BART’s Web site, its requirements go beyond state guidelines, as every officer applicant must have completed at least a year of college.
Police have one video of the incident in evidence, different from the video that local media have released, and the quality of that video makes it hard to reach a sure conclusion, Gee said.
“It’s not clear to me why the officer felt he needed to shoot. I don’t know, and from my perspective it doesn’t matter,” Burris said.
Two authorities on police use of deadly force, both former law enforcement officers, said the newly discovered tape leaves unanswered questions.
“Strictly on the basis of this video, it is impossible to determine whether the shooting was justified because the officer who fired the shot might have seen some imminent threat to his or others’ lives that the camera does not detect at that distance, angle and resolution,” said Michael Scott, a University of Wisconsin law professor, former police chief in Florida and co-author of “Deadly Force: What We Know.”
Scott said he watched the video several times. If there was a threat, he wrote in an e-mail to the Times, it “would most likely have to be a firearm or other weapon in the possession of Mr. Grant. However, if it turns out that Mr. Grant had no such weapon, it is awfully difficult to imagine what might have justified the use of deadly force.”
Curtis J. Cope agreed that the tape doesn’t show enough to draw clear conclusions.
“There are so many things we don’t know,” said Cope, a former 30-year law enforcement officer who has conducted police training and provides expert testimony in police procedure cases. “We certainly don’t know the reason why they decided to put him prone on the ground. We don’t know what reactions were taking place, what orders were being given and whether or not he is then complying or not complying. … You need to look at every possible angle of it. Those angles all take time.”
Grant was a butcher at popular Oakland grocery store Farmer Joe’s and a loving father, family members said Sunday.
“He was so happy with his daughter,” said Lita Gomez, sister to the mother of Grant’s child. “You could see he was just so happy when he looked at her. Now, he’s not going to be there for kindergarten. He’s not going to be there for her prom. He’s not going to be there for her wedding. She was robbed of that.”
Family members erected a memorial for Grant outside the Fruitvale BART station Saturday night, where they said they plan to continue honoring his memory for 10 days.
A public funeral service is planned for 11 a.m. Wednesday at Palma Ceia Baptist Church, 28605 Ruus Road in Hayward, family members said.
Gee asked anyone with information on the shooting to call BART investigators at 877-679-7000, ext. 7040, or the Alameda County district attorney’s office at 510-272-6222.
January 5th, 2009 at 11:56 AM
THIS SHOOTING WAS CLEARLY UNNECESSARY..AND IF HE DID THINK HE WAS HOLDING A TASER GUN THEN HE AT LEAST SHOULD BE CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER…THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS TO US NORMAL PEOPLE..
January 5th, 2009 at 7:41 PM
These damn cops have been out of control for a long time. But the good ol boys network wont make an example out of one of their own at the expense of poor minorities. He will probably get little more than a paid vacation and some sensitivity training.
January 5th, 2009 at 7:59 PM
This shit truly makes you afraid of the police. un fucking believable. A cop can murder someone in broad daylight and there is not an national uproar. I wonder what would be the response if the victim was one of America’s treasures… A young white girl that had allegedly been in a fight? Shit would be all over CNN and FOX
January 5th, 2009 at 8:06 PM
As the article indicates, they wear the tasers on the opposite side and facing backwards, there is just no way he thought he was going for his taser.
January 6th, 2009 at 7:57 PM
There was a protest on Monday and there is one coming up on Wednesday. APSP Uhuru movement was there. Details here:
http://cbs5.com/localwire/22.0.html?type=bcn&item=FATAL-SHOOTING-PROTESTED-bagm-
Also in that article they start the slander again, talking about how Oscar had a criminal record and did a few months in state prison. This is ridiculous, he gets killed in cold blood and they are searching for any reason to slander him and make it seem like he in some way deserved this death. Participant in a brawl or not, criminal record or not, police killing people is wrong!! But you will hear mainstream people be like “well, what did he do?” They can’t believe the police kill for no reason, they have an assumption of guilt. It is sickening.
January 6th, 2009 at 8:37 PM
Glad to see there are people out there giving Oscar a voice when none of the mainstream media seems to care about this.
January 6th, 2009 at 8:38 PM
and after I say that I see now that CNN has this on the homepage.
January 6th, 2009 at 9:00 PM
Yeah, they came on the story late and are now showing the video. They got former police officers even saying how it doesn’t look justified. But when there was no video, when it was only news reports a day after it happened, Malcolm-Che was there. The CNN analysts are saying that it was probably an accident, but when you draw your weapon and kill a man I’m sorry it isn’t an accident. How stupid do they think we are?! He killed a man in cold blood and he should be tried for 1st degree murder, like we would. Anyone who has held a taser and a fully-loaded Glock 22 can attest that they don’t feel similar in your hand at all, not to mention that they are on opposite sides of the police officer’s belt. This is a tragedy and at the end of the day they’re going to say it was an accident and not part of a pattern of police brutality and murder which is a lie. Malcolm-Che and other conscious sisters and brothers know that this is expected when it comes to the police, which is the most powerful gang on the streets. They rob, steal and murder with impunity.
January 7th, 2009 at 12:21 AM
All I read is cowardice and that’s why they get away with it. Grown men on here shivering like little girls. It makes me sick to my stomach to know what we have devolved in to. If it where my brother there would be justice! This doesn’t happen to the Jew,Asians or Euro whites to the same level as us because we’re cowards I despise all of you on here who sit back and act like it’s nothing you can do, no wonder half of you are gay or an idiot thug. Marcus and Malcolm have got to be turning over in their graves. Ancestors forgive us. I’m not saying grab the torches and do something stupid but don’t act like cattle. Form a militia get involved with the local police and mayor so you can make them hurt financially or politically or all the above. Sackles roaches. You’d be quick to jump another black man if he stepped on your shoes but let the police do something you whimper. I shit on you all.
January 7th, 2009 at 12:17 PM
Sorry A Man but I think you have the wrong crowd. I know myself or anyone at the staff of Malcolm-Che does not consider themselves to be thugs. Not sure where you came up with that.
And since we make you so sick please tell us what you have done to right the injustice or bring the story to light?
Where is the militia you have started? What groups have you formed? You are the worst form of idiot, one who is full of hot water and nothing constructive to say. Go have your mom fix you a bowl of Captain Crunch and come back when you have actually done some of these things you says you shit on people for not doing.
January 7th, 2009 at 2:47 PM
We understand A-Man’s anger at what is going regarding police brutality in Amerikkka, and also his disgust that many people in Amerikkka turn a blind eye to it. We at Malcolm-Che are both involved in organizing against police brutality and fighting in the “Battle of Ideas” (as our Cuban comrades call it) to help win people over to our point of view. We also appreciate that A-Man paraphrased Malcolm X when he said, “You’d be quick to jump another black man if he stepped on your shoes but let the police do something you whimper.” We assure all our readers that we are neither “idiot thugs” nor “cowards.” We are bout tha struggle. And that struggle means we have to fight racism and prejudice in every form, including A-Man’s own prejudice against homosexuals when he said, ” I despise all of you on here who sit back and act like it’s nothing you can do, no wonder half of you are gay…” We are Marxist revolutionaries, and we – like the country of Cuba that gave Assata Shakur asylum when Amerikka attempted to incarcerate her for life and worse – don’t discriminate against people because of their sexual orientation.
January 7th, 2009 at 8:14 PM
I gonna let this be it. First off Malcolm-Che I appreciate it and I hear you.
Second the comment was directed at all Black Men. If I didn’t love my Brothers I wouldn’t have said it. Too Dtek we are doing something are I wouldn’t have made the suggestions. You focused on the negative not the sensible solutions given. I’m a black man and we are in a state of atrafee as a whole. It wasn’t intended to sound nice getting shot in the back defenseless is even shittier. But the worlds not nice and we have a very unrealistic approach to it as a people and as Men. I don’t give a shit if I offended somebody the world has contempt for us and your complaining about pride read in between the lines. It’s better to get a ass whippen from your dad then New Yorks finest. We gotta start talking like men thinking like men being men. And not Sissies Intellectual or Thugs (go to jail get told what to do and turned out). Not homophobic but I ain’t Jesus I respect Fidel we owe him and the People are gratitude but I bet they weren’t fighting in the Sierra Maestra or the Jungles of Central Africa with a bunch of Miss Nancie’s either. We got more excuses then a chump with a bus pass. Ya’ll aint gonna hear me so fuck-it ya’ll be cool!
January 8th, 2009 at 1:59 AM
Sorry but I took offense as I read it as a direct attack. I usually dont care what others think as well but its seems people have a tendency to flame others for something while being complete hypocrites in not practising what they preach.
January 8th, 2009 at 7:26 PM
I think our positions are pretty similar when push comes to shove A-Man, and I appreciate you posting your opinions. We get a lot of hits to the website, but barely anyone leaves a comment so we do appreciate that. I just want to note that men and women fought side by side in the Sierra Maestra in Cuba and they were all warriors to the fullest. Also, I hope people checking our site out will click A-Man’s name and check out his youtube channel, especially the video about how mad people been buying guns since Obama got elected here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_s0ifxANYs&feature=channel_page
January 14th, 2009 at 9:58 PM
dude got arrested today. charged with murder it seems. After cooling off and thinking about this, im dont know if this is so great. Im not very well versed in the law but I know that the burden of proof must be higher to prove a murder case rather than say manslaughter. They will have to prove he “intentionally” killed the guy. Im thinking he will go for the “I thought I was pulling out my Taser” defense, and if the jur buys that, he could get off scot-free. But I guess it also depends on what degree of murder he is charged with as well. Should be interesting. I just hope Oscar gets justice.
July 10th, 2010 at 10:02 AM
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