Police Brutality : The Execution of Oscar Grant III By Sherard Neal

Setting the Stage Time: 2:15am Date: January 1,2009 Location: Oakland, California

Things leading up to the event… Oscar grant & some of his friends had gotten into a altercation with another group of people on a Train. When the BART police arrived they asked grant and a couple more individuals to step off the train at Fruitvale station. They then detained grant and others.

During the Event… After Oscar got off the train he was handcuffed and put on the ground. A rookie officer had his knee in his back and he said Oscar was resisting arrest so he yelled "Get back, I'm gonna tase him.” Then Mehserle drew his gun and shot Grant once in the back. Grant then exclaimed, "You shot me! "Grant turned out to be unarmed; he was pronounced dead the next morning at Highland Hospital in Oakland.

The Injustice… The injustice in the Oscar Grant III case is that officer Mehserle shot and killed him for no reason. He said he was trying to reach for his Taser because Grant was resisting arrest but he got confused.

After the event… On January 7, 2009, protests over the shooting and administration of justice began peacefully about 3:30 p.m. with about 500 people gathering at the Fruitvale station. On January 13, 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.

Why is this a form of civil disobedience? It’s a form of civil disobedience because after the death of Mr. Grant there was nonviolent protest. violence can never lead to peace, but a violent person is much more prepared to start nonviolence than a coward, passive or apathetic person would be.

Pictures from the protest