Can we even start a year without something racial happening in this country? I have already spoken about my thoughts concerning the Muslim family that were subjected to fear and discrimination while trying to take a flight. But this is something far worse.
On New Years eve, hours into the start of the New Year, police shot a young Black man. In the back. While he was laying face down. And I bet most in the nation are only learning about this today, a week into the month just like me.
Now some may have seen the highly edited video of this murder, as shown by ABC News and a local television station. I warn my viewers this is disturbing, real, and murder in my opinion.
Here are details that are currently known and visible from the video. Police were called to the Oakland train station reportedly because of a fight. Once there we see that initially 2 officers had control over 3 or 4 men, who were co-operating. The crowd observing the event made the officers nervous, as another 5 officers arrived on the scene. Oscar Grant, 22 years old, is seen standing at one point though it is not clear why. The officers have him kneel and then place him face first on the ground. Oscar seems to be handcuffed this entire time. He moves on the ground and one of 3 officers restraining him places his knee on Grant's neck. As this happens another officer, a 2 year veteran, casually stands back, reaches for his gun and fires into the back of Grant killing him.
Another view of this entire incident can be seen below.
This is raw footage. The key moments are from 1:56 - 2:57 . It is clear at 2:37 that 32 officers, joined by a third, are nervous but controlling a crowd that are busy observing the event and video taping it. At 2:52 you can see the officer draw his gun, with 2 officers holding Grant down, 3 officers holding the crowd (4 people apparently and an unknown amount in the subway car) and I believe one other officer in the background.
While the situation was not pleasant, none of the men on the ground were endangering the officers. The crowd was at a distance. and 3 men were close getting video. One of those men was taken down by one officer, but the rest of them were unencumbered or endanger. I say that both from their stance and the video footage of the crowd.
There is no question of the guilt of the officer that fired. There was no threat. Not from Grant, the other men on the ground, nor the crowd. There were 6 or 7 officers at the location that can be observed, with an unknown amount in transit. While quite vocal, the crowd maintained a wide distance, with the exception of 3 men that were under constant observation by no less than 2 officers.
This was a murder.
A murder committed by a police officer, on an unarmed, defenseless Black man. Again. And some dare tell me that I have no reason to fear the police. That stories about the consistent, coast to coast murder of Black men by police is a lie. That this is just a coincidence.
If all that were true, then why has this taken 6 days to be released to the nation? Why has no major media network covered this story nationally? Why is ABC News providing a highly edited video that places doubt on the cause of this event, when I found several videos of this event on youtube in 10 seconds that are clear on what happened.
The innocent can stand in the light of day, and were this murder justified in any way the police would have made it national an hour after it happened. But it is not. And only now, with the family suing for $25 million is it catching attention.
And I think the family deserves far more. A father of a 4 year old daughter has been killed in cold blood for no justifiable reason. A family has lost a son. There is no proper price, but obviously in California the $50 million paid to Rodney King was not enough to make a point.
How can anyone look at this video, and recall the deaths of Sean Bell, the beating of Rodney King, Amidou Diallo, and so many other events - each year - and not wonder if Black men have bull's eye's painted on their backs that police see.
I am angry. At the news media for hiding this for days. At the police department in Oakland for pretending that there could be any justification for this act. They are claiming the officer might have been trying to draw his taser. If so, once his hand was on the gun didn't he know the difference. Once he drew the gun and saw it, why didn't he replace it. And why did he fire when 2 officers had control of Grant on the ground?
And I am insanely angry at the officer. he is a murderer. He needs to be in jail right now. Because I guarantee if I killed a White man who was on the ground, defenseless, and a father of a child there would be national outrage. I'd be in a jail immediately. And the only question would be if I would get electrocuted. And all that is without a video tape.
Justice in America is not colorblind. Like the news media and police across the nation it seems to be color bound.
23 comments:
Comment as found at aapoliticalopinion.blogspot.com, where I am a contributing author.
blackwomenblowthetrumpet.blogspot.com said...
Hello there,
This is an outrage but I do not believe that this is going to produce a national initiative to address the "legalized" police lynchings that occur throughout our nation every single month...and most do not receive any media attention...particularly in the smallest cities....
{shaking my head in anger}
I want to see black men's organizations step forward with an agenda to address this swiftly...not just this incident but the entire police culture of murdering blacks!
Thank you for continuing to blow the trumpet about this!
Peace, blessings and DUNAMIS!
Lisa
Best wishes to the family.
Especially his daughter. Too sad :(.
This will only stop when those responsible this murder are held to account. Protesters have shown that they have plenty of faith in the system by burning cars and shops in hopes of pressing for criminal charges. Once that faith in the system runs out, they will just burn Mr. Mehserle and the likes of him, by-passing the system. Right now whites are more concerned that Mr. Mehserle must be feeling awful, than they are about the murder of a black man, Mr. Grant.
Based on the video I saw, the officer that shot the young man should should be tried and convicted of murder.
The interesting thing that the no one seems to address is:
1. Grants involvement in the fight
2. That fact that there was a fight.
The author notes that the 3 or 4 men were cooperating, however if they were truly cooperating there would have never been a fight. As a society we can't only criticize the outcome of an event, but must also be critical of the precursors to that event.
Think about it, if the fight never occurred(fighting is still a crime), Grant would be alive.
If Rodney King wasn't running from the law(a crime) he would not have been beat down.
Every action has a reaction(Newton's 3rd Law). If we can change the first event, we would have fewer young Black men dying.
To the last Anonymous,
Yes the officer needs to be convicted of murder and given the death penalty (if that is available in California currently).
Why is no one speaking about the reported fight? First because we do not know if Grant or any of the men in the videos were involved in anything. We do know police were isolating them and in that process Grant was murdered in cold blood.
Whether there was a fight or not, it did not involve the police. The men were not resisting arrest or fighting with police. The police were not involved in any scuffle, nor were they in danger. None of the men had a weapon. And almost all were handcuffed (if not all).
Even if they had committed a crime, which is very unclear, they did not commit murder. They did not endanger a life. And there is no justification for the taking of a life by a police officer unless there is an imminent threat of death for someone in their immediate area.
Yes every action has an EQUAL and opposite reaction. If you want to quote Newtonian physics get it right. Thus lying on the ground is not equal to death. Nor is a fight, by unnamed and unknown individuals, at some undetermined point in the past, where death or life-threatening injury did not occur.
So here is your precursor.
If America did not have slavery, there would be no prejudice against African Americans that endures for roughly 400 years. If there is no prejudice institutionalized in our history, Blacks would be treated in the same manner as any other human being. If police treated Blacks like Whites, Grant would not have been shot in the back on the ground while defenseless and held down!
Change that fact and we wouldn't have any African Americans being slaughtered, whether defenseless or in a hail of 50 bullets or by just a single bullet, by police officers without justification.
Good thing none of you will be on the jury.
We don't know the whole story - I find it hard to believe that this cop, in full view of the public and other officers - would just "casually" draw his gun and murder this guy in cold blood.
Myself, I'd like to know the whole story. If the shoot was justified then accept it. If it was cold-blooded murder then the cop should spend the rest of his days in prison.
What I cannot understand is how blacks get so outraged at something like this while not seeming to give a damn about the huge numbers of blacks murdered by other blacks. I've read stories of children being killed in drive-bys and nary a peep of outrage from black (most white folks are appalled at the cruelty).
I cannot understand the motivation behind destroying one's own neighborhood; the destruction of people's property (like some poor woman who's transportation to and from work is destroyed); the destruction of local black-owned businesses; the rearing of (illegitimate) children in an atmosphere of fear and violence. That's sick.
I'm sick and tired of hearing about racism. It's a sorry excuse. Look in the mirror. Doesn't anyone think it odd that the police are nervous enough to call for lots of backup when trying to subdue a black man in a mostly-black crowd? I've seen fights break out in public places with whites and crowd members, often as not, ASSIST the police in the arrest.
Would blacks be happier if police adopted a policy of "hands-off, walk-away" whenever blacks are involved in an altercation?
If blacks in this country want to succeed then abandon the culture of failure, resentment, and violence. From my white point of view, there is nothing good about having a large segment of the population mired in criminality and squalor.
Way to dramatize the situation to epic proportions. This man was a HUMAN BEING who happened to be African American. The tragic events, sad as they are, were not done because this young man was of African American nationality. They cop wasn't yelling out racial slurs or anything and nothing in the videos even hints at this being race related. Sure, the guy should get some kind of punishment but acting like it's a race/hate crime is irresponsible of this site.
Danya,
Actually you are incorrect. There are claims that the officer in question, at least, did spout racial slurs. And this was being investigated by the police department prior to his resignation.
And if you question how I know that, look at the local news with comments from the police commisioner. He directly stated that racial slurs were claimed to have been used and was being investigated. So there is question about a racial/hate motivation.
And I do not believe I can dramatize the murder of an unarmed, possibly handcuffed, man lying on the floor.
Yes he was a human being that happened to be Black. Isn't it odd how every time a human being is shot dozens of times (literally), or questionably shot in the back, or beaten by half a dozen or more police officers - across the country - that human being is ALWAYS Black. Name one incident where a police officer has shot an unarmed White human being more than 3 times in the past decade. 2 decades. Keep going. And you cannot, I would bet money on this, name an instance where police killed a White American that was unarmed with more than 5 shots in the last 100 years, if ever.
That is systematic, that is repetitive. That is a conscious and willful disregard for the lives of human beings of color. So yes that is a race crime. An institutionally supported one. That has gone on for the 4 decades of my life, and has been occasionally reported during that time.
Perhaps you are not familiar with these kinds of events because you don't see them on television, and/or you don't live in neighborhoods with a majority of African Americans, Latinos, Asians and other "minorities". But for those who have, the stories and retelling of such acts are older than I am.
We as a nation need to stop saying this is just a lightning strike. Lightning strikes once, not bi-annually or more if the news media would bother to report these things the way they cover Casey Anthony for the past year.
Anonymous,
"I find it hard to believe that this cop, in full view of the public and other officers - would just "casually" draw his gun and murder this guy in cold blood."
Did you bother to watch the video provided in this post? The officer in fact did exactly what you stated yet you refuse to believe with your own eyes. That's not defending a police officer, that denial based on something far more dark.
And as for the whole story try this - A police officer that was not in danger of their life, with no human being in danger of their lives, drew his gun. That is a violation of police procedure. That officer then took aim on a human being, possible handcuffed, lying on the ground with another officer holding down the suspect. That is bad police work as it endangers other officers. That officer then fired on the prone, defenseless human being, missing another officer by mere inches. That is murder.
Just run that last paragraph and the video in your mind but imagine the victim as White. Does that sound justified? According to law and police procedure it is NOT justified. That is murder.
Now as for your attempt to change the subject to something completely different. Which is a diversionary tactic used to make one discussion seem bad because another discussion seems bad. Nice trick, but I see it.
There is a lot of commentary, on my blog and in the Black community, about Black on Black crime. And a lot has been done about it. But considering that the majority of crimes and violence against Whites are done by Whites in this nation - that is factual and available via the D.O.J. data - you should say the same thing about White crime - especially those committed by White males 18 - 25. In fact it's more important that crimes committed by Whites be addressed as they are more common and thus more detrimental to the nation. But that doesn't fit the stereotype to nicely does it.
So if you want to throw stones, get out of your glass house first. I know the numbers, and I do my homework before I speak.
Now getting back to the point which you were in the throes of denial over, this was a murder. The racial aspect is as I keep saying, and most refuse to acknowledge, from the repeated and consistent action of police officers extreme violence when dealing with African Americans and other "minorities".
If you can't wrap your mind around this, consider this. If your brother is killed by a cop, and your friends father was beaten by a cop, and your other friends grandfather was beaten and killed by a cop, and someone in your neighborhood was beaten by a cop, and 1 in 5 of the people in your area at the least know of a person that was harassed or beaten by a cop - all of them without just cause or arrest - you just might feel unfriendly and nervous around police.
Not that they are all bad, but the ones that are make up for all the others in droves. And they have been doing this, across the nation, for over 100 years. Do I know police officers, yes. Some are my friends too. And I still, having never gotten a ticket for jaywalking, get nervous when a police officer passes me. Because I have no idea what the hell they might do to me.
"From my white point of view, there is nothing good about having a large segment of the population mired in criminality and squalor."
Then I suggest you get off your ass and start doing something about the largest community creating criminals and living in poverty in the nation - other White people. Until then you can kiss my ass as you try to justify this murder.
More comments from my youtube channel.
SKBFINEST
Its high time this issue got the recognition that it deserves. I whole-heartedly believe in the death penalty. An eye for an eye as some may say. What people don't realize is that there is still an at exponential level in the US. Most people opt to remain oblivious. Keep it up.
susantv
It is Murder. White America does not value Black life & hold deep disdain Black skin. This is the same for Latinos. It is clear from the lack of media coverage of Black victims to the actual violent crimes committed against Blacks by the police, etc. We need all of our local and national Black organizations and our comrads of other American organizations to step up and stand up TOGETHER, UNITED to say ENOUGH...FINALLY. I will check out your blog regularly. Peace.
FALSE TASER ARGUMENT.
OK, GLOCK 9mm weighs 28 oz.
X-26 police taser weighs 7 oz and has a flip up safety switch with a bank of LEDS that start to flash when armed.
There is no way you can confuse the two.
Taser is brightly colored and worn on LEOs weak side.
Something very wrong here.
New Year's Eve.
I believe the cop was drinking..
First off, yes I believe the cop was wrong. Whether it was intentional or accidental, nobody knows. I agree the videos look real bad but why would a cop who has to go through so much schooling and training just get be a cop just shoot soemone in cold blood in front of thousands of witnesses and lose his high paying job? I don't think anyone is that dumb! Think about it. Si I feel the intentional cold blood murder accusation is wrong. If he wanted to just shoot a black man in the back he surely would not have done it then, come on be real.
Second, I grew up with Oscar and live in the neighborhood. He was not an innocent kid. He was a drug dealer that carried guns and robbed people all the time. Him and his group (gang) of friends wreck havoc in South Hayward. I have personally seen this many many times. he always runs from the cops and throws drugs and guns from them. Yes he had a child but he was no "father" to that child. She was just a hood rat he got pregnant. Oscar ALLWAYS carries a gun with him everywhere he goes. I know most of the guys had guns on them that night on BART. It also doesnt surprise me they were fighting on BART, thats what him and his friends do all the time. There was girls with them also and when the cops came they gave the guns to the girls because they dont get searched. I was told this by people that were there.
All of that does not mean Oscar had to get shot, I know. But he was not a saint like the news says and I believe it was accidental. I agree that the cop should be tried for his crime, an accidental murder is still a crime, but he didnt intend to shoot him.
Time to hire only African-American police?
Let's end police brutality.
For the Anonymous that claims to have known Oscar Grant,
You have less than zero credibility. You do not give your name, make wild accusations without any fact or substantiating documents, and take issue with suppositions that have no relevance to the case at hand. Such are the actions of a slug, not a human being.
The facts are that Oscar Grant complied with police, laid down on the ground, had an officer on his back, was unarmed and was shot in the back dead. It doesn't matter if he was Ghengis Khan, such actions are more akin to secret police and death squads than American police.
And Oscar Grant is not in question here. How dare you seek to try malign him, and bolster the police with such ambiguous comments. That is quite nearly libelous and slanderous. No wonder you did not give your name.
Ex-Officer Mehserle is the one in question here. While I may be wrong in my assumption of his motive, which is debatable, there is no question of his actions. Your baseless claims have no relevance to what this officer did. And what he did was cold-blooded murder.
He drew a weapon without cause. He presented deadly force without cause. He endangered the lives of his fellow officers and bystanders. He killed a defenseless, non-threatening man. He violated police regulations and several laws. Your petty attempts to justify and improve his image fail miserably, and the video of the event provide all the proof needed.
Such faceless, nameless attempts to attack the victim of a crime sicken me. You don't need to respond, unless you wish to apologize to my readers, Oscar Grant's memory, and his family.
Online organizing has been hampered. The local news station websites (KTVU for example)has disabled any blogging about the killing. If you search "Oscar Grant" online you see a confusing list of non-blogging websites. I have created a non-censored blog for anybody to leave opinions. The blog was created for the only purpose to express your opinions about the killing. Hopefully the blog is useful and gets lots of comments. Tell your family and friends about the blog. Let's organize our thoughts!
Go to: http://justiceforoscar.blogspot.com/
Justice,
Actually I know that my blog has been easily found under the search term. At least yesterday if not today as well. And my site is not censored - other than vulgarity or racial/ethnic/ect insensitivity.
And as you can see many are expressing their thoughts here.
But since i support anything that helps getting wider attention on this issue I will allow your post to piggyback on mine. But do not expect that I will allow such in the future.
Hey, MV, it's susantv from youtube.
Here we go with sanitizing the officer's character. I know this does not relate to your blog post, but I think it's related.
Check it out:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/09/MNQV156LHC.DTL&tsp=1
First let's get this straight The Oakland Police Department had NOTHING to do with this shooting. Mr. Grant was shot by a Bay Area Rapid Transit Police (BART) Officer. BART has it's own police agency that is in no way associated with the City of Oakland Police Department.
Secondly, my heart goes out to Mr. Grant and his family as well as the officer and his family who all have to deal with this tragedy.
Lastly, let the court system, the Feds or whoever else needs to to get things done. The mob of thugs and anarchists descended on the City of Oakland and tore it to pieces for the fun of it. There is no reason for anyone to randomly roam the area and destroy peoples property, business and the like just because mobs rule.
Mr. Grants family has hired a highly respected attorney in the area to do his job to get justice for the family who by the way has spoken out against the violence and rampaging thugs.
Who kills most black men? Other black men by an overwhelming margin. That's apparently not an outrage nor anything whatsoever to fear, but this crime is.
Anonymous,
Yes Black on Black crime is horrible. As is White on White crime which vastly outnumbers it, but that is a different matter isn't it. In fact both issues are important, and yet have nothing to do with Oscar Grant.
A murder committed by police, the people that are supposed to protect the populace, is an outrage. Changing the subject does not change that fact.
Don't try to obfuscate the facts. Police killed Oscar Grant without cause, in an execution style. There is no excuse. And the officer responsible is still at large, without charges, and since resigning without investigation or penalty. That is an outrage.
"Right now whites are more concerned that Mr. Mehserle must be feeling awful, than they are about the murder of a black man, Mr. Grant."
Okay, that right there is stupid. I'm a white woman, and I am completely outraged by Oscar Grant's execution; I call it that because I don't feel that "murder" is a strong enough word for what that officer did. He had NO REASON to shoot Oscar Grant, other than his own impotent fury at being screamed at by the crowd and not being able to handle the situation. He was pissed off, and pissed off with a gun AND a badge...a lethal combination. I personally think that the death penalty should be on the table, something I'm normally against, because this was an execution-style killing, and as the saying goes, "Eye for an eye." The media is trying to garner sympathy for the officer by saying, "Oh, he didn't mean to shoot him, he meant to tase him. Look at his reaction; he stares for a moment, then puts his hands to his head as if to say, 'What did I just do?' The officer's first child was born within days of this shooting."
Uh, who cares. Oscar Grant had a child, too, but I don't see the media throwing that out there. Also, I think the officer reacted that way because he killed Oscar in the heat of passion, and the sound of the gun firing brought him back to his senses. Basically, he lost his temper and it went too far. WAY too far. This makes him a danger to society, and he needs to be locked up for a good long time.
So, the next time you think about making such a blanket statement about "whites," please just STFU. We are not all born racists, just like not all blacks are born thugs. Okay? Great, thanks.
I pose a question for you all...
Who will speak for Oscar Grant???
How will he be able to exercise his rights as a human being in this country now that he has been denied his rights and murdered?
For those who believe that the system will serve justly, Lets remember that the system is made up of people like you and me. We are not flawless and the same goes for the criminal justice system.
Lets truly educate ourselves with these issues and remember what history has showed us.
Regardless of our personal feelings about race and the violence in this country - OSCAR GRANT was murdered! He deserves a voice... he deserves justice!!!
~Dakika
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