The jury in the Oscar Grant murder case reached a verdict on Thursday, July 8. A Los Angeles jury found Johannes Mehserle, a white former Bay Area Rapid Transit cop, guilty of involuntary manslaughter for the killing of 22-year-old unarmed Black man, Oscar Grant. The verdict represents another crime against Grant and his family. It is not justice.
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| Protesters in Los Angeles react to the verdict. Photo: AP |
More than that, it is another example of the racist crimes perpetrated daily by the police and the entire system against oppressed youth, especially Black and Latino.
Involuntary manslaughter is the lowest possible conviction Mehserle could have received. He was charged with second-degree murder. With this verdict, Mehserle likely will only get sentenced to a few years in prison. His possible sentence ranges from probation to up to 14 years. Yet any other person, who is not a cop, would face 25 years to life, given similar circumstances. Mehserle will be sentenced on Aug. 6.
A tale of injustice
On Jan. 1, 2009, Mehserle shot and killed Grant at the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland, Calif. Grant was unarmed, lying face down on the ground as two cops restrained him.
Cell phone video footage that spread around the world following the killing makes it clear that Grant and another man who was arrested with him were brutally treated. The footage shows Mehserle standing above Grant, who was on his stomach, and deliberately shooting him in the back.
The execution-style killing justifiably sparked mass outrage around the world. People from across the San Francisco Bay Area joined Grant’s family and friends in protest after the funeral, demanding that Mehserle be brought to justice. Mass protests filled the streets of Oakland for several nights. An organized, militant movement quickly grew.
After the killing, BART officials worked feverishly to cover up the incident, calling it an “accidental weapon discharge.” They did not arrest or even detain a single officer involved in the incident for more than a week. It was only the power of mass street protests that forced the city to take action. Mehserle was arrested and charged with murder on Jan. 13, 2009—almost two weeks after the killing. He was the first cop in recent California history to be charged with murder for an on-duty killing.
From the beginning, a pro-police bias permeated media coverage of the case. It was aimed at breaking down the natural public sympathy for Grant and his family as victims of police brutality. It demonized the victim and characterized the protests against Grant’s killing as “riots.”
In a pretrial hearing, the judge expressed that the outrage of Oakland’s Black community would result in an “unfair” trial. The judge ignored the problem of the corporate media’s bias toward the BART police. As a result, the trial was moved to Los Angeles, where a jury without any Black members was chosen. The deck was stacked.
The trial continued for several weeks. After just over six hours of deliberation, the jury had reached its verdict.
The media’s role remained consistent throughout the trial. It attempted to create sympathy for Mehserle, while sidelining the victim of the crime. Once video footage of Grant’s killing was leaked, it was often described as “chaotic” and “hard to interpret,” in line with BART police statements. BART representatives were interviewed more often than the family of the victims.
With almost no commentary from Grant’s family or friends, Mehserle’s blatant lies in testimony were given headlines. For example, Mehserle testified that he thought Grant “might” be reaching for a gun, and also that he thought he had fired his taser and not his gun.
‘No justice, no peace’
Activists and Oscar Grant supporters held daily vigils at the courthouse during the trial. Organizers in Los Angeles and Oakland continued to organize to ensure that Grant’s story was heard.
After the verdict came down, Grant’s family and activists expressed anger and outrage. Grant’s mother, Wanda Johnson, told the media: “This was murder. My son was murdered.”
Significant demonstrations followed. In Oakland, thousands of people gathered to speak out against the verdict and demand justice for Grant. The protest continued for hours, surrounded by a huge and repressive police presence. Over 80 people were arrested.
A Los Angeles demonstration in Leimert Park drew hundreds. Community activists and members of Grant’s family spoke at the protests. Party for Socialism and Liberation members Gloria La Riva and Chris Banks spoke in Oakland. PSL member Peta Lindsay spoke in L.A. Solidarity actions happened in San Diego, Fresno and elsewhere.
The outrage and anger felt by the Black community and the progressive movement is fully justifiable. For Oakland residents in particular, the killing of Oscar Grant is not an isolated incident, but part of a long history of racism and police terror.
The only reason charges were brought against Mehserle was the militant response of the people to Grant’s murder. An organized movement arose and the capitalist state could not ignore it. It was forced to file murder charges against one of its own, even though it certainly did not want to do so.
The jury’s verdict in no way represents true justice for Grant–but the fact that Mehserle is going to prison at all should be attributed to the movement’s strength. This is a fact that cannot be ignored.
Remember Oscar Grant! Jail all killer cops! Stop police brutality and racist murders of poor and oppressed people!
