A riot has broken out in Oakland, California following the shooting death of Oscar Grant.
People all over the nation were outraged by the New Years Day incident, which left 22-year-old Grant, a father of a four-year-old girl, dead after a police officer shot the unarmed man in the back at an Oakland subway station.
The shooting was caught on tape, and quickly circulated around the Internet. Though viewers of the tape were stunned, police probably never anticipated the violent backlash.
According to CNN, a riot has now broken out, and so far 105 protesters have been arrested. The protests began shortly after news of Grant’s death, and during riots some protesters laid on their stomachs to show solidarity with Grant’s position when he was murdered lying face down. Some wore signs on their back that read: “DON’T SHOOT.” Others got violent, setting cars on fire and smashing out windows.
"We live a life of fear, and we want them to be afraid tonight," one protester explained.
Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums walked through the chaos attempting to calm rioters. Officer Johannes Mehserle, the policeman implicated in Grant’s death, has resigned, but has reportedly been receiving death threats.
Grant’s family has filed a $25 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Bay Area Rapid Transit police (BART). Grant was laid to rest Wednesday morning, in a heartfelt memorial service that attracted over 1,000 mourners.
January 08, 2009 @ 4:01 pm
Riots in Oakland Break Out Following Shooting of Unarmed Man
105 arrests made
Article tags: Oscar Grant, Sean Bell, Barack Obama
Page printed from:
http://www.vibe.com/news/news_headlines/2009/01/oscar_grant_riots_oakland/
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