Anger in Oakland

Oscar Grant, 22, was shot to death at the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Fruitvale station in Oakland by a BART police officer New Year's Day . Grant was unarmed and restrained at the time of the shooting. The officer, Johannes Mehserle, resigned this week avoiding questions about the incident. The extreme action, and the lack of accountability for Mehserle have sparked a lot of anger in Oakland. According to an Associated Press article, protests last night turned violent, and arrests were made.

This is not the only incidence of wrongful death by law enforncement in Oakland. In 2007, an Oakland police office shot and killed Gary King, Jr. in the back. There were protests then as well, but the death of King, Jr. did not gain nearly as much attention as that of Grant. The likely reason: video of Grant's death taken by standers-by, and shared widely across the web. This media event has put spot light on the police brutality in this city.

The wider awareness and undeniable evidence of the wrongful death of Grant has given police brutality activists the stage, brought more community involvement, and also more outrage and anger. The protest I witnessed this morning outside of the Oakland offices of BART, were peaceful, but there were signs that the peace was fragile. The group chanted "justice for Oscar Grant" and listened to speaches, but as they approached the glass door entrance angry pounding could be heard. A voice over the bullhorn said, "let's be respectful" and "don't break the glass." When I left everything was still intact.

This event has also given the youth of the city the impetus to get involved. Many of the people there were students from a local highschool, the same highschool that Grant attended one of students told me. I talked with a highschool teacher who had come to the protest with his students. "We knew that they were going to come no matter what , so we came with them, to help keep what happened last night from happening again, and I think it's important for them to be here."