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The Oscar Grant Verdict
On January 1, 2009, Oscar Grant III was killed on a train platform in Oakland, California after a transit officer, Johannes Mehserle, shot him in the back. The whole incident was caught on video as a number of people look on at what looked like another run-of-the-mill situation involving a Black man getting harassed by cops. Unfortunately, a young man’s life was lost.
If you watched the video and reacted like I did when I first saw it over a year ago, you thought “Damn, he just murdered that kid.” In plain sight for all to see. For one of the few times, in my memory at least, officer brutality, overreaction or whatever you want to call it was documented with little room for interpretation or question. In case you didn’t know (lots of people I spoke to in the last few days didn’t), former officer Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, instead of the greater charge of second degree murder. At first I was happy to hear that a guilty verdict was reached. Then I thought about it. Involuntary manslaughter? What the hell is that? For a crime that carries a 2, 3, or 4 year prison sentence, among a few other minor penalties for taking a man’s life? Damnit, we lose. Again.
The verdict sucks. Involuntary manslaughter is like a slap on the wrist, especially when you consider the experiences and emotions many Black people associate with any act of police brutality, unintentional or not. Memories of the lives, losses and abuses experienced by men like Sean Bell, Abner Louima, Amadou Diallo, and Rodney King still ring fresh in our minds. Knowledge of officers who have been acquitted of numerous charges despite their apparent guilt. Even closer to home, our fathers, brothers, cousins, uncles, sons and friends have their own stories to tell about their encounters with police.
Then I asked, was justice served? Was the verdict fair? To both I keep coming back to “No.” But I’m not sure why. I’m not sure how to define “fairness.” Ideas of justice lead me to confused results. When I think with the legal side of my brain however, it seems like the law was served. Based on the definition of involuntary manslaugter in California:
. . . “manslaughter” [is] the unlawful killing of another person without malice.1 “Involuntary Manslaughter,” which is the least serious variant of manslaughter, gets charged when the killing occurs:
in the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to a felony, OR by way of a lawful though dangerous act, that is done in an unlawful manner or without due caution or circumspection.
If you watched the video, you saw Mehserle react after he realized his gun discharged into the back of a man who had his hands tied behind his back. He claimed that he did not realize he reached for his gun until it was too late. His face seemed to tell that story. I’ve never held a handgun or a taser, so I can’t begin to weigh in on whether his confusion was warranted. Is it unfathomable that such a mistake could be made in the heat of the moment? I don’t think so. Adrenaline is a hell of a drug.
Even as I type that, it feels like I’m giving Mehserle a pass. It feels wrong because another Black man is dead. No, it wasn’t as a result of 41 shots directed at the dark or 50 plus shots aimed at a vehicle. It only took one shot to take Oscar’s life. One shot to outrage a community. One shot to recall the painful memories and unfortunate history between Black people and the police in this county.
I came across the this video on the City Brights section of the San Fransisco Chronicle. At about the 2:00 mark, a man reacts to the verdict and other issues in the Black community. While I don’t endorse all of his views (e.g., when he talks about eradicating all police officers), he touches on the sense of frustration Black people may share in the wake of this verdict. It’s interesting food for thought.
What are your thoughts about the verdict? Was it fair? Was justice served? What do those phrases mean to you? Are people overreacting? Have you or anyone you know had any personal encounters with police that resulted in a physical altercation? Do you know of any other stories that main stream media hasn’t picked up? Tell your story.
Caught between my intellect and my emotions,
29 Responses to “The Oscar Grant Verdict”
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The verdict frustrates me, but I’m like you and can understand how it came to be.
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The video kept freezing so i couldn’t see the actual moment the shot was fired but heard it & jumped.
What are your thoughts about the verdict? I don’t know the whole story but a young man’s life was unjustly taken from what i’ve been hearing so to answer the next question…
Was it fair? no, i don’t believe it was. 2-4 years for taking someone’s life that was doing as you say, i don’t think it is.
Was justice served? In so few words…Hardly.
Have you or anyone you know had any personal encounters with police that resulted in a physical altercation? Yes and he ended up in juvey & has been in and out of trouble & jail ever since…
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Miss Jenkins Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 1:08 am
Let it buffer all the way…it should work then.
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L. Dejean Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
ok…i will try that
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Great topic. I never saw the video til today and I jumped hearing the pop from the gun. That involuntary manslaughter is straight bullsh!t. You’re trained as a cop how to handle your gun and I read somewhere else that he said he shit the guy cuz he thought he was taking out a gun. Yeah, with his frigging hands behind his back? What is he, a magician now? *shakes head* Anyway, I don’t know how else to feel but confused but about that reaction video: How can you say you need to eradicate the police all together? Because a community can live in peace without them, right.. Oy vey. My head hurts now..
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This entire situation is horrible. Someone over at Verysmartbrothas, Muse I think, compared the officers sentence to that of someone who stole a lamp from WalMart.
When is that thin blue line that cops ahere to thicken. I have a lot cousins and friends who are in law enforcement and I alway wonder if they tire of their brother and sister officers doing pulling John Wayne crap while on the job.
If it frustrates my civilian a** they have to be livid. (I guess/hope.)
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The only way i could see it being involuntary manslaughter was if Oscar Grant WASN’T HANDCUFFED! There’s no excuse for shooting a handcuffed person, especially one lying face down with an officer on his back. I have shot many pistols and I tell you what it doesn’t feel the same as a taser. For one a taser is much wider. I’m positive that they covered proper gun handling in police training. BUt afterall he was a transit cop so maybe the weapons portion wasn’t as extensive. Howevr that’s no excuse to confuse a taser for a handgun.
Now to the verdict, was it fair? Hell no! Was it understandable? OF course. What it all boils down to is the courts not wanting to alienate the police. They work together, so if they drop the hammer on the police in cases like these it creates a divide. The courts need the police to be thorough in their investigations so the prosecution can win more often. The police need the comfort of knowing that the people they arrest are gonna be convicted. It’s not right, but that’s just how it is. It’s a shame a young man like Oscar Grant had to lose his life.
One final thing:
When I was a freshmen in college (shoutout to Duke U!) a police officer on campus pulled a gun on me. It was about 3am and black fear set in. He pulled his weapon and told me to show him my hands (i was just horsing around with some friends, should be noted that we had just gotten outta a 745). Anyway I was enraged that he would dare pull a gun on me, an unarmed and smiling black man. If a police officer would pull a gun on a black man on a college campus, where the handgun is most certainly the last resort, he most certainly will pull one on a black man in the streets. If the police wrongfully arrest you or harrass you, it’s better to feel like a punk for a few hours or so, than to not live to see the morning.
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CHeeKZ Money Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 9:12 am
So did you file a complaint against the officer or just let it go?
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It has been interesting to watch the reactions of people and compare based on where they live.
A lot of the people who live on the west coast, especially in Oakland seem to suggest that we should be happy that they were convicted of anything. After all, they point out, LA is the same city that acquitted officers of beating the sh*t out of Rodney King and that was on tape.
I’ve also read points about the instructions the jury was given and that within the instructions given, they came to to the best conclusion they could. Haven’t read what those instructions were, just yet, but that’s a point that’s been raised.
I also understand the rioting in Oakland was peaceful. Don’t know that to be true either, but again this is what I hear/read from folks on the west coast.
Meanwhile, there’s a lot of cries of injustice and anger coming from the rest of us. The ones who don’t live out there, the ones who don’t deal with those cops on the regular, or that community or that culture. Doesn’t mean we can’t or shouldn’t be outraged or upset but it is interesting to note who’s super mad and who’s a little mad…(ftr: having little info with regards to what happened in the courtroom, I think an involuntary manslaughter charge is bogus, but I’m happy that at least the man was convicted of something — my fear the whole time was this cop would go the way of so many cops before him — the path of freedom)
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SaneN85 Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
That is an interesting angle on the reactions. I’m a West Coaster (Pacific Northwest) that didn’t really get affected by the riots, Rodney King, etc. However, we have a significant amount of police misconduct here as well. Maybe I’ve just become numb to it. *shrugs*
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Well to put this into perspective, they other charge they found him innocent of was murder 2.
Second-degree murder is defined as 1) an intentional killing that is not premeditated or planned, nor committed in a reasonable “heat of passion” or 2) a killing caused by dangerous conduct and the offender’s obvious lack of concern for human life
Really not that big of a reach when you consider what is on bold. However, my guess would be that a jury would have to want to send a message to the PoPo. And no jury wants to do that. A defense lawyer is just going to point out that guns and dangerous and police officers have to have guns… therefore we shouldn’t OD on them b/c we put them in these situations to begin with.
What is fair? Five to 10 years. No pension. In the over populated Cali Prison system, he prob only have to serve 3 or 4 years if he is a good little 2520. He gets rape a couple of times by some Esse’ maybe forced into being a skin head. Than he can get back to his life.
I think the legal system needs to start taking into account the effects police ‘mistakes’ have on urban community. Their actions continue to erode the trust we have in ‘the system’ spinning our hoods into these wild wild west, no snitching, crime is good environments where nothing can grow.
Good post Jenkins.
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A.Smith Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 10:18 am
The jury was also instructed that to convict him of 2nd degree murder, they had to know he had malice aforethought — or that he knew his actions would kill Oscar Grant.
The prosecution couldn’t prove that — he claimed he thought it was a taser — and though I’m not inclined to believe him (and think he is guilty of 2nd degree murder), no one has proof of that all the same.
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There are multiple definitions of “fair” and “justice”. Could we find a definition for those 2 words that could describe the Oscar Grant situation? Yes. But will that take away the frustration and pain that many people feel over this? No.
The laws are eff’d up and as long as they are eff’d up, sh!t like this will keep happening
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I understand how it came to be, but I still don’t believe the sentence was fair for the crime. A man lost his life. Mistake or not–confusing the gun for the taser or not–he definitely committed murder, not manslaughter. The reason the public has such a disdain for the police and the system in general is because police that eff up are not treated fairly. I support law enforcement, but I don’t support them being shown leniency because of their profession.
Its like a cycle that I feel won’t ever be broken.
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http://colorlines.com/archives/2010/07/what_the_grant_jury_must_decide.html
I retweeted this last week after the verdict broke. Based on that, I would think voluntary manslaughter would be more appropriate than involuntary manslaughter.
When I first heard the news, I was relieved that there was at least a conviction. No, it’s not what the family and the community wanted, but he could have been acquitted. We’ve seen that happen before. Was it fair and was it just? A young man was killed, I don’t think there is any way to truly get justice for such a thing. Was it fair, of course not. People receive harsher convictions for stealing a loaf of bread. The laws in this country are backwards, and are designed to keep certain types of people away from mainstream society. And these people are usually the poor and POC.
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here’s my take. even if the officer was reaching for his taser, what was he going to do with it. use a taser on a man who was face down AND handcuffed? what is the logic behind that?
my issue comes with the trial being moved from oakland to los angeles and the all white jury. how did that happen? who was the prosecutor in this case? even i knew that wouldn’t have ended with a fair judgement. this is another example of how crappy our judicial system can be sometimes. 2-4 years for murder. it just doesn’t add up.
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This verdict once again highlights the utter uselessness of law enforcement.
I don’t want to hear about his so-called innocent mistake of mistaking his gun for a taser. How many millions of taxpayer dollars go to training for these officers? They have more loops and holders around their waist than Batman has on his utility belt, why is his taser next to his gun that he would accidently confuse the two? Why is a taser even being used on a handcuffed man lying prone on the sidewalk? If the police unions can command a handsome salary, benefits package, and pension because of the hazards of the occupation, then they certainly can face the consequences for not being able to respond to these situations properly and using lethal force when it’s not necessary.
In the words of Dre, Cube, Ren and Eazy: Fck the police.
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I’ve never served on a real jury of any kind (knock on wood) so I can’t speak on how difficult/easy it is to understand the instructions handed down by the judge- but I was so frustrated by the juries decision and the way the law works. Can you say without a doubt that the officer came into kill Grant? No. But can something outside of an “accident” be used to infer maliciousness- yes. The problem is there is no room there for that in the law. The difference b/n a taser and a gun is huge- weight and shape. I wonder if the prosecuter made the jury feel the difference.
Either way- I hope the justice department does a deeper and better investigation.
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Great post, Jenkins!
It’s a very honest one and after the initial outrage, my mind went to “devil’s advocate” territory too…just to be somewhat logical. But still, even though I’ve never handled a gun nor a taser, I’d like to think that cops are trained specifically to know the difference. If not, that makes me very uncomfortable…and not just because of this B.S. Oscar Grant verdict.
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When I was in undergrad, there was a party on campus at which two of my male guests (we’ll call them A&B) got into an arguement w/ someone else’s male guests (X&Y). X&Y proceeded to tell my guests — I’m leaving cuz I’m gon pop the trunk on your *arse* I got somn for you… & stormed out of the party to his car. On the way out of the party I told campus security… check X&Y, they may be armed. & we started walking back to my dorm. 1/2way there I notice campus security is following us. @ 1st I thought nothing of it, thinking maybe they are just watching our backs to make sure we’re safe. Then I remember there are only 2 on duty officers, so if they are following us… who is watching X&Y? I ask the question. I get yelled @ & told to keep walking b/c the police are on their way. O_o What?
*fast foward 20 mins… a paddywagon… 3 guys (all friends)…5 girlfriends… and 4 state troopers later*
The situation was OOC. I mean OD. I couldn’t believe what was happening. My male guest (A) tries to explain to the state troopers, he gets told to put his hands behind his back… he’s resisting trying to tell them they’ve got the story wrong & as he walks closer they were clearly intimidated b/c he’s 6’8 & 275lbs. They mase him & slap w/ a nightstick a few. Arresting him… They arrest another male friend when he gets hype over the situation of male A, masing him as well. The girls finally start asking questions ‘where are you taking them? etc’ when we realize they aren’t gonna be let go. As we are running back to our cars discussing the situation & what to do… police comes running up behind my latina friend saying she’s causing a disturbance of peace and some other b/s when we were AT LEAST 200 YDS away from the situation by this point. Arrests her.
3 arrests (on a friday) in jail til saturday, the dean of students called in a favor… of 3 kids, no priors, no weapons… no nothing. OD.
So I’m w/ Hugh. In the words of Dre, Cube, Ren and Eazy: Fck the police.
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Hugh Jazz Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
This story reminds me why I hate the inutile police force. They are usually the ones that escalate a situation, even though the people they are arresting are usually outnumbered and outgunned. And when they use excessive force, the law is always going to exonerate law enforcement.
I might laugh myself sick if someone angered from this “decision” were to take the law into their own hands against Officer Mehserle. When they law doesn’t provide justice, the devil is happy to offer revenge.
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Slim Jackson Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Well this is a pretty effed up story. Wow.
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Couple weeks ago I saw the jakes pull over 2 black guys who were cruising (slowly) down the street on a nice summer day in a lambo. Cops did this in broad daylight with people standing aroundd looking angry at them for ODn. Jakes didn’t care at all. That’s why sometimes I just can’t f*ck with Johnny Law.
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L. Dejean Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 2:21 pm
i’ve never heard them referred to as Jakes before…is that a Boston thing?
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Please Excuse Your Significant Other Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
I guess you’ve been in the South too long
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The story is so much for effed up then I have words to explain. Of course, we were a group of black kids at an PWU. At one point the officer pulls out those clear handy tie thingies they use when the run out of handcuffs talking about “Who else wants to get arrested tonight?! If I hear another word, I’m locking you up!!”
O_O
I called my mom 4 A.M. half shell-shocked having no dealings w/ the police before asking for bail money. Lol.
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S0_Flyy Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
This was clearly supposed to be a reply to the original story. Whomps.
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Didnt read the comments but All I can say is this:
Michael Vick will end up serving more time for dogfighting than this cop.
Plaxico will end up serving more time for shooting HIMSELF than this cop.
is it the justice system or the laws themselves that are flawed?
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I’m a minority. I’m not black. I’m not spanish. But I feel for anyone treated unjustly. This never would have happened if Oscar Grant was white or asian. I can honestly say that. I wish more people had opinions about this trial. Half my friends didn’t even know about the trial. I’ll be honest. It wasn’t until I read this on twitter and had a couple of my friends tell me about it until I knew who Oscar Grant was. Why isn’t this story as big as Lindsay Ho-Han going to jail? Why isn’t the media playing a bigger role in hyping this up? Not hearing about these types of situations leaves us all vulnerable. It creates a separation between all of us.
It’s the 50th anniversary of To Kill A Mockingbird…do you understand what that means? 50 years since a book began to open eyes about the relationship between blacks (minorities) and whites. And yet here we are. Fighting the same battle we fought 50+ years ago. Except this time we are not masters and slaves. We are all told that we are “equal.”
I don’t believe there is a solution to this problem. It’s a sickly cycle, but like MLK and Ghandi, the answer is to never give up. B/c the minute you give up, you lose and you are no longer able to bitch and cry. So I hope everyone continues to do there part in educating ppl about topics like this. It literally can take only 1 person to start a revolution.
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