Video shows a police punch before BART shooting

[CreekDog]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Video shows a police punch before BART shooting

Saturday, January 24, 2009

(01-24) 21:38 PST OAKLAND -- BART officials said tonight that they would investigate the actions of one of the transit agency's police officers after a new video surfaced showing the officer striking a passenger - apparently Oscar Grant - minutes before the unarmed young man was fatally shot by another police officer early on New Year's Day.

The cell phone video, one of a handful that has surfaced, aired Friday night on KTVU-TV. It shows a male BART police officer walking over to three men lined up against a wall near a female officer, and then striking one (Oscar Grant) in the face.

<snip>

Sources have identified that officer as Tony Pirone. He and the other officers present at the time of Grant's shooting all remain on paid administrative leave while the investigation continues, but until Saturday BART was not investigating the conduct of anyone besides Johannes Mehserle, 27, who shot Grant.

<snip>

But Peter Keane, a professor at Golden Gate University Law School and police expert, said tonight he video shows a "vicious, unprovoked and inexcusable assault" by the other police officer that should be prosecuted, and which seems to have set off events that led to the shooting. He also argued that the video is damning to Mehserle, too.

"With that powerful punch he slams Mr. Grant in the side of his head and knocks him down even though it doesn't appear Grant is doing anything but talking - maybe he is mouthing off but there was no physical provocation," Keane said.

<snip>

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/24/BANS15GOS6.DTL&tsp=1

---

This just gets worse.

Is there anyone left that will give any benefit of the doubt to the police in this situation?

I mean, don't we know enough now to know that this was unjustified brutality and murder?

[RCinBrooklyn]

1. A cop abusing hius power s/b treated like a person attacking a cop. Lock'em up &throw away the key.

[fascisthunter]

17. actually... you are right. For Actions Like This Harm Law Enforcement

as well as all citizenry.

[midnight]

2. Will this be going to court?

To say this is horrible is an understatement, but words escape me.

[CreekDog]

3. sounds like they need to arrest another officer

at least one more.

in case you didn't know, the officer who shot the man was arrested for murder.

[Xipe Totec]

10. The word oafficer should be used to describe these animals

to distingush them from real officers of the law.

[Divine Discontent]

4. I saw a police officer put them up against the wall, on the vid, when this first broke, & saw the

punch. I figured it was Oscar - ...... dkf*U#U$OUOI#U that's swear words.... They beat him, then shot him. I want the officer to get life in prison if they determine he shot him out of choice/anger, as it appears he did. The man was face down on the ground, unarmed, and an officer of the PEACE shot him in the back causing his lungs to fill with blood, and killing him probably while he choked on his own blood. The officer who punched him should be removed from the force and charged with assault.

[kas125]

5. Yeah, I saw it then, too. I don't know why this is new news all of a

sudden when it's been on the videos all along. I just hope it leads to all those involved being brought to justice.

[Divine Discontent]

9. good, so odds are most people saw that. as long as justice is served, I'll be relieved. eom

[Seldona]

6. It can't get much more blatant than that.

[DRoseDARs]

7. I was willing some weeks ago when I saw a poor-angle vid coupled with the taser defense...

...then I saw a much better video that gave a clearer view of the officer and his soon-to-be victim. That cinched it for me: The cop wanted blood.

[sce56]

8. Cops acting like they are above the law Not in Amurka!

The more people use video cell phones and camcorders the more police will be caught acting normal as usual and violating the people they are supposed to protect rights!

[designforce]

11. This is why

it doesn't matter that the president is an African-American, that the AG is an African-American. It does not matter.

This is why the old saying that all politics is local is true. We need to weed out the city councils, the police chiefs, and individual police officers who allow this to happen.

We need to demilitarize the civilian police. We have a right to protest, we have a right to not be killed by gestapo bastards and we have the right to fight back.

You know the saying that "Freedom isn't free" well it is true but not in the way the NEOCONs or their brain dead followers understand it. We must engage in local politics, fight to establish citizen review boards over the police, fight, fight, to keep our liberty and stop the repression.

The officers involved in the MURDER of a citizen and the torture of others, must be brought to trial.

I hope the heads of all the other Unions, both national and locals, bring pressure to bear on the Police Unions all over the country to clean their own houses of those police who believe they are soldiers and not public servants.

Peace

[olegramps]

12. I agree with you that they should be prosecuted, BUT:

If the police were prosecuted for their abuse of their authority, the police ranks would be decimated. How would they be able to operate their speed traps that "protect" the lives of honest citizens? The police force attracts these sub-human bullies. Thank God these former school yard bullies are in the minority of civilized people.

[AndyTiedye]

18. The BART Police are Not Beholden to ANY City Councils or Any Other Elected Officials

[sasquatch]

13. Wow, I think the people of Oakland would rather have the gangs patrol the subways

[davidinalameda]

14. nope

just because you have some bad cops, you want to turn the asylum over to the inmates?

[stillcool]

16. Good Idea!

what's the difference? Each protects their own.

[CreekDog]

20. Ahem. BART police do not *patrol* the subways

They don't ride BART at all. They ride in these:



I can count the number of times on one hand I've seen a BART police officer actually ride the train.

:rant:

[alfredo]

15. If they see brutality by our federal government, it gives a green light for

them to treat us with brutality. Attitude flows downhill.

[merh]

19. Under GWB's administration the "us versus them" mentality fostered

such viciousness. The grant monies for community policing were stopped and the only grants coming from the federal government for LEO was the anti-terrorism money. That money was given to departments for anti-terrorism training and weapons. The training fostered the "us versus them" thinking that has infected LEO. The money for the training went to departments that in turn paid private industries to put on seminars or conferences on anti-terrorism. LEO was no longer concerned with serving the public as much as it was concerned with all the "evil" hiding in the shadows.