Disappointing Verdict in Police Shooting of Oscar Grant |

Yesterday the verdict was handed down on the problematic shooting of 22-year-old unarmed black man Oscar Grant in Oakland, CA by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle in January 2009. Unfortunately, this was another instance of police brutality in which justice was not served for the family that has suffered a terrible loss.

On New Year’s Day in 2009, Mehserle and another officer restrained Grant on a train platform; they had the young man lying face down on the ground with his hands behind his back. Mehserle alleges Grant resisted arrest and reached in his pocket for what Mehserle believed was a weapon. At that point Mehserle mistakenly pulled out his gun instead of his Taser and fatally shot Grant in the back. Grant was unarmed. The unjustified shooting was caught on camera by at least five bystanders. Mehserle maintained it was an accident.

The trial was held in Los Angeles due to the overwhelming amount of riots in Oakland. The shooting stirred up strong emotions as it reminded the public of the infamous Rodney King beating in which all four white police officers were acquitted by the state court. In that police brutality case, a federal court later found two of the officers guilty of civil rights violations against Rodney King.

Prosecutors charged Mehserle with second-degree murder but the jury opted to bypass that and the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter to convict him instead for involuntary manslaughter, the only charge short of acquittal. The jury found that Mehserle didn't mean to kill Grant, but that his behavior was criminally negligent.

Protestors question the validity of the verdict due to the lack of any African-Americans sitting on the jury. The verdict incited a surge of riots and protests all over Oakland, although neither as many nor as destructive as the riots that erupted directly following the shooting last year.

Shortly after the verdict, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would conduct an independent review to determine whether the case warrants federal prosecution.

Read the full article from the Associated Press here.

Beyond Bullets Project Director Stephanie Skaff was in Oakland last year to witness the aftermath of the shooting, participate in non-violent protests and support activists working to stop police brutality and civil rights violations. We at Beyond Bullets are disappointed by this verdict and believe that all police officers should be held accountable for their actions. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Oscar Grant’s mother Wanda Johnson and all his loved ones.