The video taped killing of an unprotected black man with a transfer police officer here has exacerbate long tensions between the police and many African-American citizens. Public outrage at New Year's Day slaying of 22-year-old Oscar Grant intensified as grain footage of the shooting played frequently on TV and the Internet, while the officer remained free and not exciting with any crime. Dozens of black leaders and residents berated Bay Area Rapid Transit officials for hours at a meeting Thursday morning after protesters torched cars, shattered shop windows selected and threw bottles at officers in downtown Oakland. More than 100 people were arrested and about 300 businesses were damaged Wednesday. Three people arrested during the violence was arraigned Friday on various charges, including vandalism, arson and weapons possession. For many Grant death is the latest in a series of events - from a deadly Shootout with the Black Panthers in 1960 for the fatal shooting of an armed man in the July-have fueled distrust of the police.
Grant was the first person killed by Bart police since 2001 when a 42-year-old man was shot on a drive near the city of Hayward, said spokesman Jim Allison. Despite criticism from some black leaders, Oakland Police Department spokesman Jeff Thomason said the department comes out in the community to work together to combat crime. Thomason defended his 826-member force, says that fewer than one percent of contacts between officers and suspects result of shootings by police. There were 10 last year, including six deaths, he said. No, is involved in the shootings since 2004, was accused of crimes, and so far no one has fired. Sociologist Benjamin Bowser California State University, East Bay, said a combined flow of factors - high unemployment, cuts in social services and police, operating in a high-risk atmosphere - contributed to the anger after Grant's slaying. Before Grant was killed, many black residents were outraged by the fatal police shooting of Mack "Jody" Woodfox, 27, after a car chase in July.
Grant, a supermarket murder with a 4-year old daughter was one of several men apprehended by Bart police respond to reports of fighting on a train full of passengers recurring from New Year's Eve celebrations. Amateur video of several convicted shows Grant being pushed to the subway platform before an officer shot back and killed him. Grant family, and community leaders have called for prosecution of the employees, 27-year-old John Mehserle. The Alameda County District Attorney's office is investigate the Oakland Police Department and Bart. rubbing between law enforcement and the Oakland black community has lasted for decades. In 1968, Black Panther Bobby Hutton, 17, was killed by police during a shoot-out. More than 2,000 people attended his funeral. Public confidence in the Oakland police were further undermined by the corruption case involving several officers called the Riders, who were indicted in 2000 for planting rights bevis rights and violence against drug suspects. Officers were fired, but was later acquitted in two separate criminal trials. A judge ordered the department to implement reforms and Oakland paid $ 11 million to 119 people who claimed they were abused.Oscar Grant Shooting Protests In Oakland
Oscar Grant(Video)
Summary: Unprotected black man with a transfer police officer here has exacerbate long tensions between the police and many African-American citizens. Public outrage at New Year's Day slaying of 22-year-old Oscar Grant intensified as grain footage of the shooting played frequently on TV and the Internet,
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