5 Things You Can Do Right Now About the Oscar Grant Shooting

Thanks for posting this. Always important to channel our anger and energy into construction action.

there is no remorse for the polices action. they take a life in Exarchia Greece, they take a life in Augusta Ga, they take a life in Oakland Ca, they take a life in Lakewood Wa. they have been taking our lives for far to long. they did the same earlier in the year of 2008 in Oakland after the anarchist book fair. what happened? a march where people took back to the normalcy of daily life. because the religious institutions that exist within capital became the vehicle of what should be done and what was done. to begin recuperating the rage against this world.
there (Alex, Oscar, Justin, Jose etc.) lives are an extension of our rage. for far too long it has been a distancing of these experiences from places like Gaza, Greece, Iraq... now it is knocking very abruptly on our doors. lets see an end to their semantics and dialects of passivity that they have a cry for. so we can be ordered to consume more of the same life less commodities. work the same miserable jobs... become more of the same of this entire monolith.
it is seen now that these bastards in uniforms are nothing. they have no power. all they have is a badge and are part of a larger system created by capital and the institutions existent. let this be a poem written by heart beats of the past that seem so familiar. look at LA in 1968 the watts riots, look at LA in 1992 the Rodney King riots, look at France in 2005 a deeper social condition created in the banlieues.
its OK for an police officer to kill a person - a body. part of this larger apparatus. when this happens it is called justice or protection of the people. though when a person kills a cop it is called murder. the media will go on and on about the intention of why this happened. the police officer gets a leave of absence, paid vacation for their inexcusable actions. while the families mourn the deaths of the people they loved. a child is left behind, a family is left behind, a group of friends are left. with discontent and rage. they need to be held accountable.

http://www.ktvu.com/video/18409133/index.html

http://www.theolympian.com/localnewsfeed/v-print/story/707863.html

http://sfist.com/2008/12/22/solidarity_with_greek_uprising.php

http://www.325collective.com/library_nights-of-rage.html

Call the Washington Representative offices to demand the FBI be involved and to investigate possible obstruction of justice commited by B.A.R.T. Police officers at the scene and any higher-ups. I called a little while ago and was surprised to learn our representatives knew NOTHING about Oscar Grant. Call them now and tell then you are their constituent (voter living in their congressional district) and you would like them to have a watchful eye over the investigation and urge them to bring in the FBI. Pass verbally or cut and paste this message to other blogs. we need to change how our representatives deal with these senseless police shootings.

California Sentors
Senator Dianne Feinstein
United States Senate
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-3841
Fax: (202) 228-3954
TTY/TDD: (202) 224-2501
Senator Barbara Boxer
United States Senate
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-3553
Fax: (202) 228-0454
TTY/TDD: (202) 224-2501
U.S. Representative (District 9- Oakland, CA)

Barbara Lee
Oakland District Office
1301 Clay Street Suite 1000-N
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: (510) 763-0370 Fax: (510) 763-6538
Hours of Operation: 9am - 5pm PST
Washington, D.C. Office
2444 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2661 Fax: (202) 225-9817
Hours of Operation: 9am - 5pm EST

watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfFfUxBDMDY

STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FROM
THE MILWAUKEE POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY COALITION

Another stolen life taken by police violence. We grieve with you and we will fight with you for justice. We stand with the family of Oscar Grant and know that we cannot allow officers to act above the law.

In the last few years we have witnessed an increase in harassment, racial profiling, false arrests, beatings, and wrongful deaths against young people of color in our cities. Pledging to eradicate police violence and create effective structures of police accountability are necessary first steps in order to keep our people and our families safe.

The systemic issues causing the crisis of police brutality can be addressed when there is an independent, elected civilian review board to review, investigate, and rule on officer misconduct. Together, we can stop the killing. The people of Oakland must continue to offer direct support to the family knowing that they are under tremendous pressure to be silent.

It is critical that a collective demand be made to the Alameda County DA and to the Oakland mayor for a CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION into the officer who killed Oscar Grant. Currently, there is an ongoing internal BART investigation, which is just a means to delay and deny justice for the family of Oscar Grant. Justice for Oscar Grant is justice for all!

That video doesn't show anything, why don't you use the video that shows the actual shooting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlfNNiwoa_E

I linked this story at my PR Blog. But this situation warrants for more than just a press release. People need to get involved and work together to make a change! I applaud you for sharing this!

Great post.

I am trying to do my part: http://gravitiblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/more-on-oscar-grant.html

This was an execution which, because it was captured by civilian videos, not be covered-up.

When my son was executed by a NJ policeman, there was no independent memorialization. The Investigation Reports, which took six years to get, tell the tale. However, after seven years, no one will do anything about it.

The biggest mistake the police made was to fabricate a richly detailed account of a hostage situation to justify the execution. That was quickly discounted. Nevertheless, it was never corrected in the media.

The media is manipulated so that the murdered victim is demonized. There seems to be little interest in justice after the fact. I will just keep on working to make this injustice public and to do something to correct it.

The police are out of control in this country. All of us are vulnerable.

utterly dispicable

The officer who shot Oscar is named Johannes Mehserle, and hes presently under police protection. Since he wants to take the cowards route and not show up to give an account of his actions that night, steps need to be take to flush him out from whatever hole he’s hiding in.I did a little research and found the following:

Possible email address: jmehserle@sbcglobal.net.
eBay account name:jmehserle; this is almost definite because that username made a purchase from a cop store back in April
facebook: Closest connection I could find is Marrika Mehserle, who was a student at UC -Davis campus in northern Cali. A cousin, or sister, perhaps?
I also found a Todd Mehserle in northern Cali; based on his birthday he’s possibly an uncle or maybe even his father.

Im looking up contact info on the president BART officers union. Hes been disturbingly silent on this tragedy and is no doubt helping to shelter the sorry excuse for a man tha killed Oscar Grant in cold blood.

This was a police abuse, period. I'm so outraged by this that I just emailed angry emails to the chief of police and the board of governors and invited pretty much all my facebook friends to the facebook group dedicated for this. "Involutary mansluagher" my arse! Thank goodness for witnesses armed with cameras.

One of the worse things I have ever seen. It makes me sick to my stomach. I thought cops in my state of GA were jacked up. What makes it worse is I am sure there will be a cover up and nothing will happen to the officer. Pretty sure he gets another job elsewhere as a cop. You know how the 'Boys in Blue' stick together....

BART BOYCOTT!!

Riot=protest without leadership.

Forget about No Justice No Peace!
Focus on No Justice No Money!

This is an awful tragedy that deserves the full measure of the law to investigate and hold folks accountable.

I actually live in the bay, and have all my life. Seen my dad beat up by the police, and met some really great officers. Had good and bad encounters with law enforcement and work for a law enforcement agency.

However, the rioting and the singling every police officer out isn't productive, or fair. If this becomes about bash the police, then justice will not be served. This is about accountability.

When our words start to become empty rhetoric, angry and inciting people to take their cause to the streets, we dishonor the memory of Oscar Grant, and we do ourselves a disservice. I, for one, want to know what happened out there, why, and see justice served.

This case has had me angry since I first say the brief edited video from ABC News.

I have written about this and placed it on 5 blogs I write for (including my own). I have provided unedited video of the shooting, and followed the manner in which the national news media has avoided the story.

We must raise awareness on this, not just the murder of Grant but the pattern of police across the nation killing and assaulting Black men. Like Sean Bell, Rodney King, Amidou Diallo and so many more.

This is an institutionalized action, ingrained in police departments across the nation. And until we do something to make the police aware we will not abide this, and that we are paying attention even when the national news media fails in their jobs, it will continue.

My comments can be found at http://www.blackentertainmentblog.com

And I have youtube commentary as well. The attention is coming, now we need to use that to make sure this pattern ends.

I think we should organize a boycott of BART for the same length of time it takes them to arrest the person they employed to murder Oscar Grant. I would suspect the revenue supports the salaries of the killers they employ. Why would we continue to pay their salary when they are killing innocent citizens? I also believe BART is a government agency so why would we continue to knowingly give money to the same people who are doing nothing to ensure this murderer is locked up.

In addition to Makani's great list:

1) Call the Oakland District Attorney Tom Orloff and demand that MEHSERLE (the BART cop) be arrested immediately and charged with murder (510) 272-6222

2) Call/write BART Board President Tom Blalock.
* Tel (510) 490-7565 (this appears to be his home #, but at his website [http://www.infolane.com/blalock/contact.html] he invites calls to that number.)
* E-mail BoardofDirectors@bart.gov

3) Call your local BART representative (if you live in the Bay Area)
To find you rep see: www.bart.gov/about/bod/index.aspx

The most important event in this video, in my opinion, is when the female police officer demanded that the witness hand over her camera. We need much more strict laws forbidding the police from destroying evidence. The police should not be allowed to take away the recording devices of any witnesses on the scene and the police should not be allowed to stop anyone from recording a police incident. When is the federal justice department and the supreme court going to get into the 21st century and protect the right of the people to know the truth?

Thanks for actually posting positive actions we can take to help. I have sent an e-mail to everyone I know that includes the contact info posted here.

hello black people,

This is not just happening to black people. I'm a 5 foot tall white woman, and I was beat up by the SF cops in 2002, on Sept 11, 2002, ironically enough. It's been impossible to get justice. I spoke with attorney John Burris about my case, and he said that if I'd been black I'd have been shot. I agree. All video and pictures of the event were mysteriously lost, even the "public defenders office" lost the pictures they took of my bruised body. I was further abused by the "justice system" - after being beat up, I charged with being drunk, but I was denied a BAC test to prove I wasn't drunk, even after I agreed to pay $100 for the BAC test, when the officer said I would have the pay for the BAC test. They added "deadly assault", and the police report was complete fiction, and had me throwing punches at 6 foot tall, armed police officers, so that they had to "restrain me". I have a degree in Math and Physics, and I'm a software engineer, and I just don't think that would be a good idea. I just asked them to watch the videos to see the truth. And so the videos disappeared, as they charged me with crimes, all because I said "I have rights" to the officer, and REQUESTED a BAC test.

That's when this white woman woke up to what was really going on in the world. When I tried to make the world a better place by fighting the corruption, I was further penalized. The City of SF was paying city attorneys to protect these goons, not investigate them.

Anyway, hello black people. It's happening to white people too, Indeed, a small 100 lbs white who couldn't hurt a fly.

But, I feel better that 6 years later, there's video of this event that can't "disappear". May you now get justice.

Prayers and goodbye to a gorgeous black man with a beautiful smile, named Oscar Grant. May Peace be with you.

Demand that the pay of individuals working for the law enforcement agencies involved be cut drastically.

I don't see these officers earning their money. They are obviously not well-qualified.

Demand a pay cut. Minimum wage.

We need to put an end to the national police state. Federal funding and grants lead to oversized excessive police forces that function on a quota system to maintain the funding and federal grants. We need to scale back our the police forces in our communities and call for an end to this national police state that is taking over America.

NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE, F THE POLICE!!!

Thank You for inviting me, Im too overwhelmed at the moment, to "express My Self". The "Trailblazing Spirit" against injustice that Ive possesed since the beginning allows me to take another Deep Breath,and obey as I stay tuned to "KGOD" On behalf of all the M.O.T.I.C members, Mothers Of Those In Crisis,we Unite our Power In Love. I will follow the instuctions to the local politicians as well as The Higer Powers. Peace, Barbara Dennis bbjdennis@verizon.net

For anyone who ever wondered just how much more likely blacks or are than whites to commit various crimes, the answers are here.

It takes hard work to pry the facts out of the reluctant grip of federal crime databases. But the results are eye-opening:

Blacks are just 13 percent of the population but they commit more than half the muggings and murders in the country.

The proportion of blacks in an area is the single best indicator of how dangerous it is. The racial mix is a much better predictor of crime rates than poverty, unemployment, and dropout rates combined.

Although Jesse Jackson and Bill Cosby wring their hands over black-on-black mayhem, blacks actually commit more violent crime against whites than blacks. A black is about 39 times more likely to do violence to a white than the other way around, and no less than 130 times more likely to rob a white.

And yes, everyone's suspicions about rape are correct: Every year there are about 15,000 black-on-white rapes but fewer than 900 white-on-black rapes. There are more than 3,000 gang rapes of whites by blacks—but white-on-black gang rapes are so rare they do not even show up in the statistics.
There is plenty more—but just as interesting will be how the Mainstream Media will treat these facts.

When will there be more protest?

Thank you so much. I only find out about this travesty tonight, but I promise I will call those numbers tomorrow. May God bless all of you activists who are spreading the word.

I'm from Napa where Mehserle is from and went to school for becoming an officer. The local paper there and the people who are commenting on the paper's website seem to be sympathizing with him. It is a VERY common occurance in Napa, for people to be biast and to be closed minded. If you want to be heard by people that need to hear it leave comments on the napa register's website. People are making it seem, in their comments, that what Mehserle did wasn't completely uncalled for and it's upsetting to locals like me that have faollowed the story from the beginning and think diffrently. Napa is a place where the majority of people are white republicans with lots of money that can only see what they want to see. Someone even left a comment about how they created a website called freejohannes.com. SAD!

Below is a link to a documentary produced by Youth Movement Records in Oakland, CA which explores the issues surrounding the murder of Oscar Grant by BART police and the effects it's had on youth in the community. Please check this out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4tNCCeiHoM