This is so tragic. On New Years Eve a Oscar Grant III, 22, was killed on a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station platform after cops were trying to control an apparent fight that broke out on the train. What’s sad is that according to witnesses and the news video below, Grant did not resist the officers, so then why was he shot?

Although the officer, Johannes Mehserle involved in the fatal New Year’s Day shooting of Oscar Grant III has resigned, people (myself included) are not satisfied with the outcome of this incident. Mehserle should be prosecuted for murder, not simply let go from the force. He killed a man for no justifiable reason, Grant was not putting anyone in danger, yet Mehserle took it upon himself to choose this poor kids fate.

Officials response?

Some experts who viewed the video clips speculated that Mehserle fired his gun because he believed Grant had a deadly weapon, while others think the officer had mistakenly his handgun for a stun gun.
“If he was under stress he would not be able to distinguish between a Taser and his firearm,” said Bruce Siddle, founder of PPCT Management Systems, an Illinois company that trains law-enforcement officers in use-of-force. -Associated Press

Infuriated community members responded to the injustice by protesting. Unfortunately these protests turned into several hours of violence Wednesday night as demonstrators smashed storefronts and cars, set cars on fire and blocked streets in downtown Oakland.

And so it continues. Violence begets more violence. While I do not encourage violent acts of protest, I am not surprised that such violent acts of frustration ensued. This whole situation brings up such rage, and rage can lead to riots. So what is the public to do when they feel that authorities are not handling a situation fairly? I don’t know the answer, I just hope that this mess is resolved swiftly, fairly, and that another wrongful murder like this never happens again.

On the day of Grants funeral, Dalia Hashad, director of Amnesty International USA’s identity-based discrimination program, released the following statement:

“When an unarmed man is shot in the back after police put him face down on the ground, it is the time for authorities to demand action, not patience. Days after the incident, the officer still has not been interviewed. The delay in this critical part of the investigation hints at the callousness to the worth of human life to a public that is all too familiar with racial profiling, police brutality and cover-ups. Whatever the final investigation reveals, the bottom line is that there is never justification to shoot an unarmed person, especially one who is restrained. It is an obvious violation of the most basic human rights standards, and a clear cut abuse of power.” -Amnestyusa.org

Agreed.

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