Bart police shooting: Protest At Fruitvale BART

PLEASE: INVITE ALL YOUR FRIENDS!

Protest BART Police Murder of Oscar Grant
Wednesday, January 7, 3 pm - 8 pm
Fruitvale BART

(Alternate route if station is shut down: AC Transit lines 1 or 1R, http://tripplanner.transit.511.org/)

On Jan 1st in the early morning hours, BART police detained a young black man named Oscar Grant along with several other people at Fruitvale BART. In front of hundreds of witnesses (and captured on numerous videos) he was cooperative and in fear of his life, actually pleading with officers not to be tase or shoot him. Soon thereafter officers pushed him to the ground and began to handcuff him. One officer then stood, drew his weapon, and shot Oscar in the back at point blank range, killing him. Officers at the scene then handcuffed the dying man as his life drained from him, and spent their energy trying to confiscate witnesses videos of the incident.

A week later, BART police has given no explanation to the public. They are pleading for "patience" and trying to concoct possible excuses for what is a blatant police execution of this young man. They have not even interviewed the officer who killed Oscar. But you don't have to believe me or the news stories or the hundreds of witnesses who saw this. And you don't need to wait for the results of a bogus so-called "investigation". You can watch the video yourself, but beware, it is a graphic video. An innocent, peaceful human being is being brutally murdered. Once you see this you will not be able to forget it.

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/01/05/18558793.php

Join us at the Fruitvale BART Wednesday from 3-8 pm to demand:

1) Murder charges for Oscars killer.
2) Independent investigation of the BART police to assess the legal culpability of administrators and the other officers involved.
3) Disband the BART police department.

The last demand requires some explanation, and it is a structural one, and therefore an important one. This is not an isolated incident, not a bad apple, not something that can be fixed by removing one officer. The responsibility goes up the chain of command. All you have to do is look at the response of the department to this most egregious police murder as the BART police "investigate" themselves. We believe the BART police department is a "renegade" police force with bizarre jurisdiction that operates without effective oversight or accountability to the public. It has a history of brutality and abuse and it is redundant and uneccessary since all of its important functions can be equally served by local police departments. Its a waste of money, and a hazard to the public. Get rid of the BART police.