NEWS & LETTERS, March-April 2010
Justice for Oscar Grant
Los Angeles--On Feb. 19 over 100 people demonstrated outside the Criminal Courts Building to seek justice for Oscar Grant and to support his family. He is the Black unarmed youth was lying face down when killed in Oakland by a Bay Area Rapid Transit cop.
Blacks, Browns, Asians and whites demonstrated against police brutality. They included the Stolen Lives Project, the October 22 Coalition, Coalition for Community Control Over the Police, the Black Liberation Riders Party and individual activists. Their signs--"No More Stolen Lives," "Stop Police Terrorism" and "We Are All Oscar Grant"--were saying any one of us can also be killed by the police.
The trial was moved to Los Angeles to escape the outrage of Oakland's population. In the day's court proceedings, pro-police Judge Perry denied the defense's motion to have a Los Angeles County prosecutor.
Oscar Grant's family and their attorney joined the demonstrators and held a press conference. Friends and relatives of other unarmed victims of police killings also told their stories. A Latino man told of how his nephew was shot in the back, another how the LAPD killed his 25-year-old brother five years ago. A young Korean woman said the La Habra police shot 11 bullets into her young Korean friend. These are just a few of the many stolen lives. Not one of the police officers in these incidents has been tried.
--Basho
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