A New Year’s Day shooting in which a subway police officer fired a deadly shot into the back of an unarmed man has the San Francisco Bay Area demanding answers as authorities appeal for patience…
The young men had been celebrating the new year at a popular waterfront tourist spot, The Embarcadero. They were heading home when police pulled them from the train car. Some of the young men were handcuffed, but not 22-year-old Oscar Grant. The video from the anonymous passenger shows Grant seated on the floor with his back against the wall.
Grant holds up his hands, appearing to plead with police. Burris said Tuesday that Grant was asking police not to use a Taser.
Seconds later, police put Grant face-down on the ground. Grant appears to struggle. One of the officers kneels on Grant as another officer stands up, tugs at his gun, unholsters it and fires a shot into Grant’s back.
The bullet went through Grant’s back and then ricocheted off the floor and through his lungs. Grant…died seven hours later, KTVU reported.
Unconscionable, unforgivable.
A mass citizens arrest of the police should have been conducted on the spot. Yes, I wouldn’t have been one to start it as they would have likely shot people again.
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Many police are therefore corrupt. We’d be far better off as a nation with less police. It’s worth a potential higher crime rate.
And there is no reason an independent lawyer can bring charges of assault with a deadly weapon and second degree murder (2nd? Possibly 1st!) against this man. Really. There is nothing preventing it. And his cohorts are accessories. Charge them. Put them away. At least remove the associates badges for even participating in such an illegal violation of those people’s rights.
Society is getting more and more transparent and it’s slowly going to wipe out corrupt reactionaries.
Sweet,
Next time I get into a scuffle, all I need to do is carry a tazer and a handgun on the same side of my person. When I murder someone, I can just use the excuse that I thought I was using a tazer = reasonable force for self defense. Excellent argument, if the cops can do it why can’t the general public?
ps — look up private attorney general theory
This cop should get the chair and every other cop there should get life. They charge other criminals with the same crime if they are together. The mistaken taser theory is bogus. This cop had to draw his weapon, then flick the safety off, then point and fire. If this was a taser even if it is the same weight, the safety mechanism is different. Now lets say he did pull his taser and use it and the guy dies as a result the cop should still be charged since the guy was on his stomach with his hands cuffed behind his back. So if mistaken taser is how the cop wants to play this then he is stupid and a criminal that should go to the chair. The guy was not a danger to anyone. Until cops get charged for their crimes and cops that watch and don’t step in also get charged as an accomplice these events will continue.
As long as you have people freely walking around with guns then what the hell do you expect!
#61 and others, Glocks, and there is a good chance thats what the officer had, don’t have manual safeties. The tazer M26 is modeled after a glock 26. Also, he would not likely fire his gun in such a situation, with two ther officers sitting on the suspect, too large a chance of injuring one of his fellow officers.
Also, the tazer is not a “torture weapon”, it’s called pain complience. I think these “less leathal” ( not non leathal ) weapons are used far to often.
Sad…
…the cop had to waste a bullet in these tough economic times…
I think the odds are that the officer was attempting to use a taser, especially if the weight comparison mentioned above holds true. It’s hard to be sure, though. I’m VERY interested to hear the accounts of the other kids present and the other officers.
Here’s why:
1. It seems ridiculous, given the length of time involved (watch the other videos available) that the officer would have expected to get away with straight up intentionally shooting the guy.
2. If you watch, they’re struggling to restrain him in some capacity, then as the one in back (shooter) pulls his weapon, the other officer pulls back — which is what he would do if he expected the subject to be tasered. (Or shot, but now you’re thinking TWO cops conspired to murder him in front of all those people, which is even harder to imagine.
3. Some of the videos shows something consistent with surprise in the reaction of the shooter.
Problems with this idea?
1. The NEXT reaction of the shooter, after the surprised looking reaction, seems inconsistent with the kind of hand-wringing I’d expect in that situation.
2. The other officer restraining him doesn’t even seem to react to the gunshot. This is strange. I would want an explanation. The third officer clearly reacts — he’s on his radio looking away, after the gunshot he turns and grabs his holster as he assesses. This officer seems like the most reliable of the three, but unfortunately it doesn’t look like he would have seen the few seconds before the incident.
Tragic. Almost certainly Criminal, even if he thought it was a taser, unless the actual eyewitnesses can testify as to some kind of threat we can’t see.
#66,
This cop will have cost the people of Oakland 50-100 million dollars when all is said and done. Those costs could have been mitigated if they had simply placed him in custody after he commited the gangland style execution.
Oh, the lawyers for his defense are being paid for by the people of California. It is one of the advantages of being above the law, er I mean a cop.
This video is SO outrageous as to be unbelievable as an intentional act.
The answer will be in the service record of this cop and an investigation of his current domestic situation.
In all cases == fired with jail time. I’d give him the alternative of a gun with a single bullet.
Thats fucked up!
If ever someone deserved the death penalty, it’s that cop.
heh, heh, heh.
I have to wonder if this cop would have killed the guy if he only had a knife or a baseball bat.
Any deniers the gun did the killing on this one?
#72 – Bobo
Are you suggesting that police should not carry guns?
Or are you still off on your pie-in-the-sky fairy tail fantasy where guns are magically whisked away from all of Earth, and we defend ourselves with sticks and stones?
Update,
the BART police use SIG .40 pistols, which do have safeties, and are larger / heavier than the tazer.
Interstingly, they have only had tazers for about 3 months, and not all of the officers have them yet.
The three month things sounds more like a mistake with the gun / tazer.
Sad for all involved
#73–Mustard==what part of NOT LIVING IN A POLICE STATE makes you assume police SHOULD have guns?
In an insane world, sane values get turned on their heads, and evidently, get covered in mustard sauce.
OF COURSE==police should never carry guns. They serve the public safety. Gunslingers walking the street are the product of too much tv watching from the 50’s==time to grow up.
OMG. How can someone even believe they could serve the public interest when someone is simply executed like that?
#34 you said, “Everyone hates the cops, until they need one.”
Yeah, right. And hate them after it’s over because they’re too busy either collecting speeding taxes or stuffing down doughnuts to help.
Police do not protect. They call people to clean up after it’s over.
#53 I’m a gun nut, but it was an execution–I agree with you. What does an execution have to do with being a “gun nut?” Gun nuts that I know, we kooks, are more afraid of what our militarized police forces are becoming than the average hand-wringer.
Land of the free
Even if he meant to use a taser, why, they had two people at least pinning him down. Your cops are nothing but ego filled bullies. Demanding respect. Fools, you should respect the law, not the law enforcers.
You really have to be creative to invent a reasonable reason for this.
I would want to know why they dragged the guy to the floor to begin with. How many cops where reaching for their tazer or gun, and why only the cop that shot a cuffed man.
Why even taze someone who is cuffed?????????????????
Why on earth is a Tazer shaped and weighted just like the other duty weapon???? That is so stupid that its hard to comprehend.
Someone might say that the similarity is to leverage existing knowledge and skill with the handgun. BUT even if — shouldnt a newbie have just a little less rope to hang himself with?
I am a tv news photographer in San Francisco. I have been doing stories about this event. I know our TV station has been running video of this shooting constantly. I have avoided watching any of it. I think it is disgusting. Interestingly, our station has a policy of NOT showing anyone getting a flu shot, because it might disturb somebody. My industry is morally bankrupt.
#83–cammike==how is your industry corrupt? Seems to me people should NOT get upset re flu shots, and SHOULD get upset over cops who kill. Totally consistent with what your station is doing.
Your actual complaint is vague. What should be done to fix it?
#77 – Bobo
>>what part of NOT LIVING IN A POLICE STATE
>>makes you assume police SHOULD have guns?
What part of NOT LIVING IN A POLICE STATE would allow the police to be bigger than me, or stronger than me, or better fighters than me? In fact what part of NOT LIVING IN A POLICE STATE makes you think there should be police at all? Fascist pigs! How dare they assume the authority to make laws that I am expected to obey?
>>OF COURSE==police should never carry guns.
Either you’re pulling my pud, or you live on a commune somewhere.
What’s your solution? Have all the police take Bruce Lee training, so they can subdue any opponent, be he bristling with armaments or not, with their bare hands? Have everybody hug and tell each other a secret?
You’ve got some wacky ideas Bobo, but this is one of your best.
Police have many other tools besides random death by firearm to gain the respect of the citizenry. Their main advantage was on display in the video==three or more young athletic cops in radio contract with backup (who should have weapons until society shifts away from infantile gun worship) would be more than enough for 95% of what they need to do. Throw in tasers and batons and you get to 99%. Get them to think with their brains instead of relying on your weapons, and you are now at 100%.
Its a new idea–police don’t shoot people who don’t have guns themselves. Think on it a while. Post back only when it makes sense.
#86, bobbo,
Either you’re drunk or you already took your meds. Go to bed.
Its a two way mirror Fusion. Both sides look drunk to the other.
How do you imagine a more perfect world? More guns for everyone like Mustard does.
Can’t we all think just a little out of the box?
#86 – Bobo
>>Post back only when it makes sense.
Hah! That’s a trick, isn’t it Bobo! You’re trying to pull a fast one on me. You KNOW that what you posted (that the police should exercise their authority by garnering the respect of rapists, murderers, meth-heads, psychotic serial killers, etc., and just talk them into handcuffs, is NEVER going to make sense. Not to me, not to anyone with a lick of common sense.
This isn’t Mayfield, and the coppers aren’t chasing down Wally and the Beav to bring them back home to Ward and June.
I’m as critical of heavy-handed fascist pigs as the next guy. But to think that police are going to subdue inner-city violent felons with a few choruses of Kumbaya and by showing them their Eagle badge boggles the mind, even coming from you.
#88 – Bobo
>>How do you imagine a more perfect world? >>More guns for everyone like Mustard does.
Curb your enthusiasm, Bobo.
When you settle down a little, you will realize that I NEVER recommended “more guns for everyone”. I simply pointed out the self-evident fact that we are never going to banish all guns from Earthlings. And as long as SOME people are going to have guns, those who wish to legally own firearms to protect themselves should not be prevented from doing so.