My son Oscar Grant III was a 22-year-old Black man who was killed in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day 2009 by a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police officer in Oakland, California.
Responding to reports of a fight on a crowded BART train returning from San Francisco, BART police officers detained Oscar and several other passengers on the platform at the Fruitvale BART Station. A BART officer kneed him in the head and forced him to lie face down on the platform. Another Officer drew his pistol and shot my son. Oscar was rushed to Highland Hospital in Oakland and pronounced dead later that day.
The events were captured on cameras and mobile phones by bystanders. Owners disseminated their footage to media outlets and various websites, where it went viral. The officer was charged with second-degree murder and went before jury peers and was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and a gun enhancement charge. He was sentenced to 11 months in county jail.