Man dies after BART officer shooting (was: I really hope this ain't true...)
01-04-2009, 07:35 PM
#62
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Yes, you could be indeed correct about that. However the fact still stands that someone's life was ended and most likely the officer who ended it is also in pain for his actions. Regardless, those statements to me, in my opinion, were completely uncalled for and rude; that's all I am saying.
01-04-2009, 09:32 PM
#63
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What happened to freedom of press? The guy next to the gurl gets arrested that uhh didn't look like they were doing anything but recording the cops. Cops keep tryin to cover **** up off of film, EVERYTHING they do should be recorded as they are supposed to do everything the correct way!
01-04-2009, 09:35 PM
#64
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01-05-2009, 01:13 AM
#65
Somehow the blue doesn't seemed as "trained" as they keep sayin' the phrase "Address me as Sir or Officer. I have earned it" WE are talkin about OFFICERS who are supposedly trained to cover our backs in stressful situations, not CAP our backs on accident.
I guess that makes sense... most people die first in wars from Friendly Fire and not enemy fire. Go figure.
01-05-2009, 09:08 AM
#66
That dude clearly pulled from his RIGHT hand... do they have to change the whole tazer handle or something to push it into the cops mind he's pullin' out a gun instead of a tazer? If an officer's gun is on the strong side arm (as most people are right handed) than the other side or in front should be the tazer? That BART Officer clearly forgot his training.
Somehow the blue doesn't seemed as "trained" as they keep sayin' the phrase "Address me as Sir or Officer. I have earned it" WE are talkin about OFFICERS who are supposedly trained to cover our backs in stressful situations, not CAP our backs on accident.
I guess that makes sense... most people die first in wars from Friendly Fire and not enemy fire. Go figure.
Somehow the blue doesn't seemed as "trained" as they keep sayin' the phrase "Address me as Sir or Officer. I have earned it" WE are talkin about OFFICERS who are supposedly trained to cover our backs in stressful situations, not CAP our backs on accident.
I guess that makes sense... most people die first in wars from Friendly Fire and not enemy fire. Go figure.
Last edited by willow; 01-05-2009 at 09:11 AM.
01-05-2009, 09:17 AM
#67
http://www.ktvu.com/news/18409300/detail.html#-
BART SHOOTING: Family Suing BART For $25 Million
Sunday, January 4, 2009 – updated: 7:55 am PST January 5, 2009
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The family of Oscar Grant, the 22-year-old Hayward resident who died New Year's Day after being shot by a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police officer, is suing BART for $25 million.
The family's lawyer, veteran civil rights attorney John Burris, held a press conference Sunday and made the announcement that he planned on filing the $25 million-suit against BART the following day. At the same press conference, Burris also declared that the shooting warrants the police to consider criminal charges against the accused police officer, who BART officials have yet to name. Burris said he planned to request that the Alameda County District Attorney investigate the matter sometime this week.
In a press release issued Sunday, Burris wrote:
"Oscar Grant III's family is having this press conference to express their outrage at the senseless killing of Oscar Grant by a BART police officer on New Year's Day. Various video tapes of the incident, as well as numerous witnesses' accounts unequivocally show that Mr. Grant, age 22 and a resident of Hayward, was unarmed and presented no threat to the officer or anyone else at the time he was shot in the back while lying face down on the embankment at the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland."
Later in the release:
"Oscar Grant's mother, with whom he resided, lost a loving son and a very active member of a close knit family. Mrs. Johnson is in a state of shock and disbelief and wants something to be done. Sophina Mesa, the mother of Mr. Grant's four-year-old daughter, says that she and Mr. Grant have been a couple since high schgool and she was present with 'Oscar' the evening of the shooting but she was not a witness. She also says that 'Oscar' adored their daughter. Ms. Mesa says that their daughter has been crying a lot and repeatedly asks for her 'daddy.'"
The shooting happened on the platform of the Fruitvale station in Oakland shortly after 2 a.m. Thursday.
BART officials have implied the shooting was an accident, saying the officer's gun discharged while the police officer and four other officers responded to reports that two groups of young men were fighting on a train that had come from San Francisco and was en route to the Dublin/Pleasanton station.
The train was stopped at the Fruitvale station so the officers could get on board and break up the fight.
Burris said witnesses have told him only two people were fighting on the BART train, not two big groups of people.
"When conduct like this occurs, there is a price to pay," Burris said Saturday. "Police have to be held accountable when they engage in this kind of unlawful conduct."
BART officials have said Grant was unarmed and no weapons were recovered.
BART officials said the officer responsible for the shooting has worked for BART for nearly two years.
Throughout his career, Burris has filed numerous lawsuits against police departments on behalf of family members of people who have been shot and killed by officers.
Burris will file the claim on behalf of Wanda Johnson, Grant's mother; his four-year-old daughter and Oscar Grant's estate.
Copyright 2009 by KTVU.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Sunday, January 4, 2009 – updated: 7:55 am PST January 5, 2009
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The family of Oscar Grant, the 22-year-old Hayward resident who died New Year's Day after being shot by a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police officer, is suing BART for $25 million.
The family's lawyer, veteran civil rights attorney John Burris, held a press conference Sunday and made the announcement that he planned on filing the $25 million-suit against BART the following day. At the same press conference, Burris also declared that the shooting warrants the police to consider criminal charges against the accused police officer, who BART officials have yet to name. Burris said he planned to request that the Alameda County District Attorney investigate the matter sometime this week.
In a press release issued Sunday, Burris wrote:
"Oscar Grant III's family is having this press conference to express their outrage at the senseless killing of Oscar Grant by a BART police officer on New Year's Day. Various video tapes of the incident, as well as numerous witnesses' accounts unequivocally show that Mr. Grant, age 22 and a resident of Hayward, was unarmed and presented no threat to the officer or anyone else at the time he was shot in the back while lying face down on the embankment at the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland."
Later in the release:
"Oscar Grant's mother, with whom he resided, lost a loving son and a very active member of a close knit family. Mrs. Johnson is in a state of shock and disbelief and wants something to be done. Sophina Mesa, the mother of Mr. Grant's four-year-old daughter, says that she and Mr. Grant have been a couple since high schgool and she was present with 'Oscar' the evening of the shooting but she was not a witness. She also says that 'Oscar' adored their daughter. Ms. Mesa says that their daughter has been crying a lot and repeatedly asks for her 'daddy.'"
The shooting happened on the platform of the Fruitvale station in Oakland shortly after 2 a.m. Thursday.
BART officials have implied the shooting was an accident, saying the officer's gun discharged while the police officer and four other officers responded to reports that two groups of young men were fighting on a train that had come from San Francisco and was en route to the Dublin/Pleasanton station.
The train was stopped at the Fruitvale station so the officers could get on board and break up the fight.
Burris said witnesses have told him only two people were fighting on the BART train, not two big groups of people.
"When conduct like this occurs, there is a price to pay," Burris said Saturday. "Police have to be held accountable when they engage in this kind of unlawful conduct."
BART officials have said Grant was unarmed and no weapons were recovered.
BART officials said the officer responsible for the shooting has worked for BART for nearly two years.
Throughout his career, Burris has filed numerous lawsuits against police departments on behalf of family members of people who have been shot and killed by officers.
Burris will file the claim on behalf of Wanda Johnson, Grant's mother; his four-year-old daughter and Oscar Grant's estate.
Copyright 2009 by KTVU.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Last edited by Rescuer; 01-05-2009 at 09:30 AM.
01-05-2009, 10:00 AM
#69
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Yeah, BART is fubarred here. I don't think in light of all the footage and eyewitnesses, the youtube that there's going to be a good way to pass this off as an accident... public outcry would ensue. BART would be wise to reach a settlement asap
01-05-2009, 10:28 AM
#71
yeah my favorite part was this.
"At some point during the effort to bring the men under control, a BART police officer's gun fired one bullet, hitting 22-year-old Oscar Grant, according to Allison."
the gun went off... Yeah all by itself. It pulled itself out of the holster and pointed itself at a guy on the ground and fired itself.
The cop that has been active for 2 years and probably done jack crap in that 2 year span had nothing to do with it.
Accidental discharge or not. The officer needs some sort of punishment.
Up to that point it looked like they were doing their jobs to the best of their ability. My only issue would be the officers inability to keep the other guys away from the ones already cuff'd. Seeing 3 guys rush at the officers with hoods up was unnerving.
I'd love to see the actual security footage to see if the guy kicked the officer or made any kind of move on the officer.
"At some point during the effort to bring the men under control, a BART police officer's gun fired one bullet, hitting 22-year-old Oscar Grant, according to Allison."
the gun went off... Yeah all by itself. It pulled itself out of the holster and pointed itself at a guy on the ground and fired itself.
The cop that has been active for 2 years and probably done jack crap in that 2 year span had nothing to do with it.
Accidental discharge or not. The officer needs some sort of punishment.
Up to that point it looked like they were doing their jobs to the best of their ability. My only issue would be the officers inability to keep the other guys away from the ones already cuff'd. Seeing 3 guys rush at the officers with hoods up was unnerving.
I'd love to see the actual security footage to see if the guy kicked the officer or made any kind of move on the officer.
01-05-2009, 10:31 AM
#72
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01-05-2009, 10:47 AM
#74
The guy was cooperating, had his arms and legs restrained, unarmed, laying face down. I would really love to know why the officer felt the need to pull his gun on a restrained person face down. 
squirming like a fish doesn't pose a threat that a baton or a knee to hold him still couldn't handle.
The best suggestion is that he was going for is taser, which is why some agencies use a cross draw. ALCO sheriff teaches cross drawing for the taser.
A sheriff buddy of mine posted this, which shows how similar the handles on the two guns are
"the current x-26 is shaped and feels like a gun because thats what TASER wants them to feel like"
squirming like a fish doesn't pose a threat that a baton or a knee to hold him still couldn't handle.
The best suggestion is that he was going for is taser, which is why some agencies use a cross draw. ALCO sheriff teaches cross drawing for the taser.
A sheriff buddy of mine posted this, which shows how similar the handles on the two guns are
"the current x-26 is shaped and feels like a gun because thats what TASER wants them to feel like"
Last edited by Rescuer; 01-05-2009 at 10:54 AM.
