LA Coalition and Oscar Grant Family Attorney John Burris at Second Los Angeles Mehserle Hearing: audio

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Speaking for the LA Coalition were Atun Re Baker, uncle of Dontaze Storey Jr. (killed by LAPD); Brandel Randolf, brother of Brayland Randolph (killed by LAPD), seeking civil damages with jury deliberating as he spoke; Fred Hampton Jr.; Sheena Chou, friend of Michael Cho (killed by La Habra police), civil trial ended in mistrial; Erika Walker of the Oakland General Assembly for Justice for Oscar Grant; Kambui Sadiki of the Black Riders Liberation Party; and Aidge Patterson, reading the LA Coalition Statement.

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LA Coalition Statement:

Greetings everyone and thank you for joining us today. The Los Angeles Coalition for Justice for Oscar Grant stands here today representing every diverse corner of LA and beyond. We are proud to stand alongside our brothers and sisters from Oakland, in a unified force demanding justice for Oscar Grant, and that Officer Johannes Mehserle be convicted of MURDER for the brutal execution of Oscar. Mehserle’s bail must NOT be reduced, it must be made clear that he is and shall be treated like a cold blooded murderer.

We stand in full support of Oscar’s family and friends who’ve had to suffer through this terrible loss for the past year. We stand side by side with our Oakland brothers and sisters who rose up for Oscar Grant from the very minute he was murdered, it is Only because them that this case has made it to trial. And we call on ALL Los Angeles residents who’ve been enraged by this terrible situation to stand up as well, and join us in demanding justice. This is the most important trial in many years, and we ALL need to be part of this monumental occasion.

We know this case was moved from Oakland to LA to get it out of the spotlight, so that Johannes Mehserle could get acquitted under the radar. No matter what District Attorney is on the case, whether from Alameda or Los Angeles, we know they always favor the police and can not be trusted to bring justice by themselves. We know that Judge Perry is a known police sympathizer, that he is the judge who allowed all but 1 crooked cop in the Rampart Scandal to gain immunity, and that he cannot be trusted to bring justice on his own. Sisters and brothers, we’ve seen this happen in our city before. But this is not 1992, this is Not Simi Valley, and we are not just asking us all to get along. We are Demanding justice, and we will accept nothing less.

For this case is about Oscar Grant, but rest assured it is much bigger. This is about the countless brutal police officers who get away with murder year after year across the nation. This is about the thousands of families who’ve lost loved ones to police murder, only to see unapologetic cops laugh in their faces while the corporate media smears their loved one’s name. This case is about the fact that We Are ALL Oscar Grant. This could have been any one of us. In fact, many of us here today HAVE experienced this exact same pain.

Deondre Brunston, murdered by the Compton Sheriffs, is Oscar Grant. Carlos Rivera, killed by LAPD in front of his own mother’s home, is Oscar Grant. Adolph Grimes in New Orleans and Saul Soriano in Panorama City, both killed on the exact same night as Oscar, are Oscar Grant. Dontaze Storey is Oscar Grant. Michael Cho is Oscar Grant. Usman Choudhry is Oscar Grant. Marcus Smith, Christian Portillo, Gonzalo Martinez, Michael Byoune, Kevin Wicks, Tyisha Miller, are ALL Oscar Grant. Sean Bell, Amadou Diallo, Malcolm Ferguson, Nicholas Heyward JR are all Oscar Grant. We are ALL Oscar Grant.

And because we are All Oscar Grant, we stand here today. Los Angeles, it’s time to rise to the occasion, we have been treated less than human by cops for far too long. We’ve put up with their harassment, abuse, brutality, repression, criminalization and cold blooded murder for far too long. The time has come for justice, not only for Oscar Grant, but for ALL of us. And together, we will see that justice. We must leave the powers that be with NO choice but to grant us this.