Oscar Grant's Family & Oakland Community Denounce Mehserle's Bid to Become Cop Again, 5/11/12: video & photos

by Dave Id

Sat, May 12, 2012 9:28AM

On the morning of May 11th, Oscar Grant's family and concerned community members held a press conference on the steps of the Alameda County courthouse to demand that Johannes Mehserle's conviction not be overturned and that he not be reinstated as a police officer, at BART or any other law enforcement agency. Just two days prior, on May 9th, Mehserle initiated his attempt to reverse the felony conviction that prevents him from returning to police work. Oscar Grant's family was denied the opportunity to attend Mehserle's appeal hearing because, contrary to the rights of victims of violent crime in California, District Attorney Nancy O'Malley's office failed to notify the family beforehand. After having never missed a day of related court hearings -- including traveling to Los Angeles to attend Mehserle's full Second Degree Murder trial and witness his conviction for Involuntary Manslaughter -- the family discovered news of this week's appeal hearing on television after the fact. [Full video below]

[Pictured above: Cephus Johnson displays legal verification of the family's right to be notified of court hearings related to the murder of Oscar Grant.]

Speaking at the press conference were Wanda Johnson, Oscar Grant's mother; Cephus "Uncle Bobby" Johnson, Oscar Grant's uncle; Jack Bryson, father of two of Oscar Grant's friends present on the Fruitvale BART platform when Mehserle shot Oscar Grant in the back; Minister Keith Muhammad, Nation of Islam; Tony Coleman, community activist; Rosa Mesa, mother of Oscar Grant's fiance, Sophina Mesa; Gerald Sanders, former Black Panther and host of Radical Perspectives on Berkeley Liberation Radio; and Cat Brooks, community organizer, current West Oakland candidate for the Oakland Unified School Board (District 3), and MC of the press conference.

Press conference announcement:
Oscar Grant's Family & Oakland Community Respond to Possible Overturn of Johannes Mehserle Conviction
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2012/05/10/18713262.php

For much more information on the movement for justice for Oscar Grant, see:

For more information: http://indybay.org/oscargrant

§Full video of press conference

by Dave Id

Sat, May 12, 2012 9:28AM