NLG Victory for Oscar Grant Protesters - Video

[video 10:01]


"Justice for Oscar Grant" protesters who were caught in an unlawful mass arrest by Oakland Police on Nov. 5, 2010, have won over $1 million and court enforced policy changes in settlement of a class action civil rights lawsuit brought by a National Lawyers Guild legal team, Spalding v. City of Oakland et al. The case arose from an Oakland demonstration protesting police misconduct and the minimal sentence given former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle for shooting and killing unarmed transit passenger Oscar Grant. When protesters began to march toward Fruitvale BART, the site of the murder, the Oakland Police Department (OPD) stopped the lawful First Amendment protected activity, forced protesters onto a side street, where without warning, demonstrators and bystanders were trapped, detained, prevented from dispersing, and arrested. Those arrested were held in abusive conditions of confinement, for up to 24 hours on buses and in overcrowded holding cells without cots or even room to lie on the floor. Women who were arrested were forced to undergo pregnancy testing. None of the 150 people illegally arrested for "unlawful assembly" were ever charged with a crime. Complete information, including claim forms for people who were arrested that day, are available at: http://tinyurl.com/n5arrest.


NLG Press Release:
National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Obtains $1M, OPD and Sheriff Reforms For Oscar Grant Protesters
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/06/24/18738864.php