Martin 1
Raymond Martin III
Professor Wilson
College Composition 101
16 September 2015
The Murder of Oscar Grant
In the progressing months of 2015, the BlackLivesMatter movement is still going strong and remains relevant as unarmed people of color are still being profiled as criminals. Various cultures of color are continuing the fight by protesting the trials of the perpetrators, organizing rallies and are sharing in the media and keeping everyone aware of what is going on. Perhaps one of the most controversial cases as the case of22-year old Oscar Grant. Grant was shot and killed in the early hours of New Year’s Day in 2009. Although this case occurred in 2009, it is still a case that sends an archaic message throughout the media. The entire ordeal was recorded by witnesses riding the train using their mobile phones as they handcuffed and planted Grant face down on the subway platform. Grant’s killer was a BART police officer by the name of Johannes Mehserle. After the shooting, Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and was sent to prison for a count of two years. This case was distinguishable because of the many elements that let up to its climax and the differences from this case versus other unarmed people of color being shot and killed.
That night, Oscar Grant was out celebrating New Years with his friends at the Embarcadero in San Francisco. They were returning to East Bay on the Bart train bound for Fruitvale station. This would also later become the name of the movie that showcased his story in movie theaters in 2013. All 8 of his friends excluding Oscar boarded the lead car and at around 2:00 am, BART police responded to what sounded like a large physical alteration involving up to 12 people. The first officer to respond was a BART officer by the name of Marysol Domenici along with her partner, Tony Pirone. The officers picked Grant and his friends out of the crowded train and pulled them onto the platform. Without question, one of Oscar Grant’s friends were cuffed and detained on the platform. Figuring that they did not do anything wrong, the rest of Grant’s friends and even the riders on the train grew angry. 3 other men including Grant were then lined up on the wall before his would be murderer, Johannes Mehserle arrived. A cell-phone recording would show that following their detention, Pirone rushed towards one of the detained men and punched him in the face continuously. Pirone claimed that the young men were the aggressors but an entire train of witnesses say that it was not Grant and his company that were the provokers, but it was Pirone and other officers that were the aggressors in the situation. Throughout the entire tribulation, riders were yelling obscenities and were angry with the police officers for how they were treating their detainees. Pirone gives a statement saying that Grant was resisting before being handcuffed. Regardless, Grant had his hands behind his back, restrained from making any movements...
