Quick Facts
Biography
Oscar Grant III was a 22-year-old African-American man who was fatally shot in the early morning hours of New Year's Day 2009 by BART Police officer Johannes Mehserle in Oakland, California, United States. Responding to reports of a fight on a crowded Bay Area Rapid Transit train returning from San Francisco, BART Police officers detained Grant and several other passengers on the platform at the Fruitvale BART Station. Officer Johannes Mehserle and another officer had restrained Grant, forcing him to lie face down. Mehserle drew his pistol and shot Grant in the back. Grant was unarmed. He was pronounced dead the next morning at Highland Hospital in Oakland. The events were captured on multiple official and private digital video and privately owned cell phone cameras. Owners disseminated their footage to media outlets and to various websites, where it was watched millions of times. Both peaceful and violent protests took place in the days following.
The shooting has been variously classified as an involuntary manslaughter since the officer later claimed he thought he was using his taser gun. On January 30, 2010, Alameda County prosecutors charged Mehserle with murder for the shooting. He resigned his position, and pleaded not guilty. The trial began on June 10, 2010. On July 8, 2010, Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and not guilty of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter.
Though initial protests that day against the ruling were peacefully organized, after dark there were incidents of looting, arson, destruction of property, and small riots. Nearly 80 people were eventually arrested. On July 9, 2010, the U.S. Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation against Mehserle. The federal government can prosecute independently for the same act under the separate sovereigns exception to double jeopardy. No charges have been filed to date. On November 5, 2010, Mehserle was sentenced to two years, minus time served. He served his time in the Los Angeles County Jail protective custody, held in a private cell for his safety. On June 13, 2011, Mehserle was released under parole after serving 11 months.
Oakland civil rights attorney John Burris filed a $25 million wrongful death claim against BART on behalf of Grant's family. BART settled with Grant's daughter and mother for a total of $2.8 million in 2011. The cases of Grant's father and friends were denied.