Oakland BART Police shoot and kill unarmed man on NYE

[kaiser soze]

Once again Police brutality....well more like murder is caught on tape. I pray this officer is brought to justice swiftly and Oakland doesn't go up in flames.

The public deserves to know why these men were detained and second what model of taser the officers were issued (if this is what the officer intended on using), and why did they not get this man medical help immediately?

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/04/BA0R153LGU.DTL

BART's police chief asked for patience from the public on Sunday after video footage surfaced showing one of his officers fatally shooting an unarmed man who was on the ground on a station platform on New Year's Day, and after an attorney for the dead man's family said he planned to sue the transit agency for $25 million.

Wanda Johnson, whose son was killed at a BART station, is...Oscar Grant, an unarmed man who was shot early New Year's...Jimmie Brown, a cousin of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old Hayw... View More Images

Chief Gary Gee said he, too, had seen video images of the shooting of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old supermarket worker from Hayward. But Gee said he found the footage to be inconclusive, and he said his investigators still needed to interview a key witness - the officer himself.

The officer who shot Grant has been with BART for about two years, is in his mid-20s, and has not been accused in the past of using excessive force, according to a source familiar with the investigation. The source described him as physically fit and respected by peers within the organization.

A source also revealed Sunday that BART police had been on edge before Grant's shooting because two guns had been recovered in separate incidents along the rail line in the hour before the shooting.

[YoungRemy]

this happens all the time and is not a significant story. guy got shot by the police in Houston over the holidays, luckily he lived. they are calling it racial profiling. he was just standing in the driveway of his own home. we don't need the details.

also, over the weekend, some college student near Seattle dresses up as a WWII era German soldier, complete with a rifle/bayonet, gets a warning from Seattle police to put his weapon down. he was shot and killed on the spot.

[kaiser soze]

Just because it happens all the time doesn't mean the public should shrug it off.

I guess there are tons of crimes that be shrugged off because they happen all the time, rape, manslaughter by dwi, theft....

This guy was killed while on his stomach, defenseless, by a cop who had no right nor reason to use his firearm. This is murder. Murder observed by many people.

In the case of the kid with the gun, the police had every right to defend themselves and the public (shots were reported before police showed)

How about this situation....a 12 year old girl is abducted and beaten by PLAIN CLOTHES police. Later she and her father are arrested for assault. Police State much?

http://www.feministing.com/archives/012790.html

Two officers in Galveston, TX were alerted to three white prostitutes soliciting a man and drug dealer, after which they mistakenly went to 12-year old Dymond Millburn's home, saw her outside in "tight shorts," assumed she was one of the perpetrators (even though she's not the same race as the suspects) and attacked her:

[A] blue van drove up and three men jumped out rushing toward her. One of them grabbed her saying, 'You're a prostitute. You're coming with me.'

Dymond grabbed onto a tree and started screaming, 'Daddy, Daddy, Daddy.' One of the men covered her mouth. Two of the men beat her about the face and throat.

The house where they were supposed to be going was two blocks away. And despite the fact that this girl was not only hospitalized with black eyes, throat and ear drum injuries, the police came to her school three weeks later and arrested her for assaulting a public servant.

[YoungRemy]

i know, i read about that story in the regular old Houston Chronicle (it took place in Galveston) when it happened two or three weeks ago. it's a messed up story because the PD in Galveston are overstressed after the hurricane hit. very similar to NOPD after Katrina.

but when the feminist page reports it, it must be an outrage...

and yes, there are tons of crimes that are being shrugged off until you report them here on the political page of BBMB...

THEN they have significance

[kaiser soze]

No, There are just too many to list. Oddly if we don't discuss any than these crimes will continue without our awareness (for the law and our rights). So why not 1 for the 100 that are committed. People will do some research and discover even more. It is about keeping the awareness of our rights and the crimes being committed against them fresh.

Some might see it as just another day and that's ok, they don't need to discuss these atrocities against our fellow citizens.

Remember this man and father was killed for nothing.

[YoungRemy]

what I am suggesting is that this forum is the last place to achieve anything that is remotely helping society solve these atrocities against humanity...

[kaiser soze]

So you're saying I should censor myself?

This is still something important to me and more than likely others. People don't get the news nor rather not read it, but some people do read this forum and threads.

The popularity of these instances is important, people need to know that police brutality towards minorities is still alive in well on the cusp of an African American becoming president.

This holds great importance to thousands if not millions of people and I'm sure a few here.

A man was murdered in cold blood, I was moved by it and am discussing it here. So please discuss and stop being such a bitch about my thread.

[YoungRemy]

Remember this man and father was killed for nothing.

apparently he was involved in an altercation on the train with an older man, the reason that the cops were called in the first place.

let's wait until they have all the evidence

[kaiser soze]

I agree, an altercation deserves police intervention but doesn't deserve a bullet to the back. The video evidence shows that men were in police custody when this man was killed. He was not on the run, he was not drawing a weapon or cellphone.

judge, jury, and executioner

More video coverage/evidence

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAHjhtYZpX0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXAETrZghn0

[YoungRemy]

police brutality is alive and well, kaiser, it's not just against minorities.

what compelled me to your thread, and to respond as Devil's Advocate, was that you seem to pick and choose your stories of injustice, and combined with hyperbole, their impact loses its flavor with all this injustice going around...

you are absolutely right, it is an outrage every time an officer kills an innocent man , woman, or child.

period.

[kaiser soze]

I'm sorry for my lack of omniscience. I will pm all thread topics to you first for approval.

I seem to pick and choose....uh, I do believe EVERY thread in here is "picked" and "chosen". These are topics that concern the posters who start the threads.

I guess you missed that memo

[YoungRemy]

I just pray that Oakland doesn't go up in flames...

People don't get the news nor rather not read it, but some people do read this forum and threads.

well said.

[yeahwho]

I'm sorry for my lack of omniscience. I will pm all thread topics to you first for approval.

I seem to pick and choose....uh, I do believe EVERY thread in here is "picked" and "chosen". These are topics that concern the posters who start the threads.

I guess you missed that memo

C'mon man, you know you were just waiting for a BART police shooting, it's in your DNA.

[YoungRemy]

my bad.

[kaiser soze]

Youtube video of supposed protest of Oakland shooting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DzqfE-LDzM&eurl

Also

The most Telling Video of the Murder, click on the video on the link - Grant's head/neck was crushed by the other officer's knee, struggled, and then shot.

http://www.kron4.com/News/BARTShootingSpecialCoverage/tabid/329/Default.aspx

http://californiabeat.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/breaking-news-bart-shooting-protesters-start-dumpster-fire-vandalize-oakland-police-car/

8:50 PM PST UPDATE: Mayor Ron Dellums has arrived at an Downtown Oakland intersection to try and calm the protester’s nerves. The car fire has been put out by Oakland firefighters. The remaining protesters have splintered off in different directions near Lake Merritt.

8:35 PM PST UPDATE: More chaos is erupting on the streets of Oakland tonight. A car fire has been reported on Madison Street.
Rioters have also torched other vehicles. Television news images right now show a car burning.
There appears to be an apparent danger to people who are on the streets tonight.
Please stay with this website for continuous coverage of the rioting.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/07/MN2N155CN1.DTL&tsp=1

A protest over the fatal shooting by a BART police officer of an unarmed man mushroomed into a violent confrontation tonight, as a faction of protesters smashed a police car and storefronts, set a car on fire and blocked streets in downtown Oakland.

Doesn't sound good

http://californiabeat.wordpress.com/2009/01/07/breaking-news-bart-cop-who-shot-killed-unarmed-rider-resigns/

BREAKING NEWS – Officer Johannes Mehserle, the BART Police officer who shot and killed 22 year-old Oscar Grant in the controversial New Year’s morning shooting incident at the Fruitvale BART station submitted his resignation from the organization today.

[kaiser soze]

More proof of additional police brutality prior to the murder

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq0-F4op_UQ

These men would have gladly joined the Gestapo :mad:(n)

[yeahwho]

That was a murder plain & simple, this is the opposite of what their job is. Making BART Police the criminal. How does the community come to terms with this? A life is taken, it will cost the citizens millions, probably 10's of millions of dollars in justified legal action and re-training expenses. The hardest part is trust, do you trust your family is safe on BART? Not really. I wouldn't have such a hard time with this if it were just one loose cannon, obviously by that video, two BART police officers were completely unable to do their job in anything resembling professional law enforcement. A smack to the head and a shot to the back. For what?

As the Bart Police mission statement says, The BART Police Department's goal is to build a more community-oriented police force that is tough on crime and strong on customer service. (http://www.bart.gov/about/police/history.aspx)

[kaiser soze]

No doubt

Police brutality isn't a new concept....but capturing and exposing it has become infinitely easier. As long as people can record the abuse and show it as clear as day this will bring more cops to justice.

What? Bringing cops to justice?!?

So if BART is tough on crime, they can start from within.

Assault, human rights infringements, obstruction of justice for trying to confiscate camera phones, accomplices to murder, and murder. Looks like BART will have their hands full...hopefully not of blood.