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Jan 7, 2009 10:37 pm US/Pacific
BART Shooting Protest Turns Violent In Oakland
OAKLAND (CBS 5 / KCBS / AP / BCN) ―
An Oakland protest over the fatal shooting of an unarmed man on a train platform by Bay Area Rapid Transit police turned violent Wednesday night, with fires set, cars vandalized, and windows smashed - just hours after the officer who fired the deadly shot resigned.
Police reported at least 15 arrests had been made in the rioting as of late Wednesday night, while Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums urged crowds to calm down.
"Even with our anger and our pain, let's still address each other with a degree of civility and calmness and not make this tragedy an excuse to engage in violence," Dellums said. "I don't want anybody hurt, I don't want anybody killed."
[size=20pt]Protesters numbering about 400 [/size]had gathered at the Fruitvale BART station where the shooting occured for a peaceful rally, and then took the streets of Oakland to condemn the incident and call for criminal charges against 27-year-old BART police officer Johannes Mehserle.
The protesters temporarily shut down three BART stations in Oakland during the evening commute: Fruitvale, Lake Merritt and City Center/12th Street. Then the crowd became violent at 8th and Madison streets, as protesters set a large garbage dumpster on fire and attacked a police car, smashing the back window and attempting to overturn it.
[size=14pt]
Nearly 250 police officers in riot gear fired tear gas at the rowdy demonstrators, most of whom ran from the scene while a few stayed and threw bottles at officers. Smaller splinter groups of protestors continued their raucus march through the Lake Merritt and downtown areas — setting more fires, vandalizing vehicles and breaking windows at a McDonald's restaurant at 14th and Jackson streets.[/size]
The rioting continued into the late-night hours as police continued moving in to shut down some city streets in the hopes of restoring order.
The uproar surrounded the shooting death of 22-year-old Oscar Grant of Hayward, who was lying face-down on the Fruitvale station platform when he was shot and killed early New Year's Day by Mehserle — one of several BART officers responding to reports about groups of men fighting on a train.
BART officials said Mehserle was urged to cooperate with a probe into the shooting. Mehserle was scheduled to meet with agency investigators on Wednesday, but did not show up. His attorney and union representative turned in his resignation letter, instead.
John Burris, an Oakland civil rights attorney hired by Grant's family, said the timing of the resignation was not a surprise to him: "He doesn't want to give a statement because BART could've ordered him to do so, and if he didn't, he could be terminated."
Now that he is not employed by BART, Mehserle can exercise his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and not speak to investigators.
Mehserle's attorney did not immediately respond to calls for comment Wednesday, but BART spokesman Linton Johnson said Mehserle had received death threats since the shooting and has moved twice to ensure his safety.
"This shooting is a tragic event in every respect for everyone involved," Dorothy Dugger, BART's General Manager said after announcing Mehserle's resignation. "We recognize that the family and friends of Oscar Grant are in mourning and we extend our condolences."
The shooting case was also under investigation by the Alameda County District Attorney's office.
"Emotions around it are 100 percent understandable, but they can't determine the decision that is eventually made after an objective analysis," Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff told CBS 5 after a meeting with some of Oakland's African-American city leaders.
Orloff said he would not provide a timeline for the investigation by his office, indicating that these types of cases usually take weeks.
"I've been telling people in general these things take weeks rather than days, but this is one where there's a high degree of interest so I'd like to get to a resolution as quickly as I can," Orloff said.
Grant's family has filed a $25 million wrongful death claim against BART and also wants prosecutors to file criminal charges against Mehserle.
The shooting incident was captured on video cameras and cell phones by multiple train passengers. Some gave their footage to CBS 5 and other media outlets, and the images have sparked an outcry from the community.
"This is an issue of grave concern in our community," said Oakland City Councilwoman Desley Brooks, who was among those who met with the D.A. "I've not seen anybody handcuffed on their knees begging for their life shot before. I would hope that it would be alarming to anybody who saw that."
Burris said Wednesday that one of the latest amateur videos of the shooting shows that Mehserle did have a Taser on his left side, but he went for a gun on his right side, instead.
"The video supports the position we are taking and eyewitnesses' testimony that the officer deliberately went for his gun and there's no mistake about it," Burris said. "He didn't reach across for his Taser. He couldn't have been thinking about that. He went directly for his gun."
However, Burris said he's not optimistic that Orloff will file criminal charges against Mehserle, saying that he doesn't know of any occasions in which the District Attorney's office has prosecuted a police officer for killing someone.
So, Burris said he also planned to send a letter to federal civil rights officials asking them to charge Mehserle under federal criminal statutes.
At a City Hall news conference shortly before the protest rally began, Dellums had called Grant's death "a tragic moment in our community's history."
"Our entire community grieves at the loss of Oscar Grant III," but the mayor added, "while the investigation now under way may shed light on specific details of the shooting, at the end of the day, establishing culpability will not bring back a life tragically lost."
Earlier in the day, about 700 hundred mourners attended a funeral for Grant, the father of a 4-year-old girl, at Palma Ceia Baptist Church in Hayward.
Sister Donna Smith of the church, said Grant "loved the Bible when he was growing up,'' and had the loudest voice in the church choir. The Rev. James Word added, "I thought Oscar was going to be a preacher but God had other plans.''
Word recalled that Grant, who worked as a butcher at an Oakland grocery store, came to his office one day to tell him how happy he was when he became an apprentice meat cutter.
The Rev. Ronald Coleman, who presided at the funeral service, said, "this is something that the world is watching. They wonder if we will start a fight or a civil commotion.''
But Coleman told the audience, "We must respond with prudence. I understand that some of you youngsters are upset, but nonetheless we have to trust in God. This is not your fight.''
But afterward, the hours-long protest that would turn violent began at BART's Fruitvale station, with rally organizer Evan Shamar proclaiming that Grant "was executed right here while he was hogtied" and vowed "we will not be silent."
There was a loud cheer when Shamar announced to the crowd that Mehserle had resigned, but added that he "should be prosecuted for second-degree murder."
"We want him charged in an American courtroom," Shamar said as the crowd chanted, "No justice, no peace!"
Shamar maintained late Wednesday night that a group of anarchists, who were not part of the organizations hosting the protest rally, were responsible for igniting the violence.
