Killing of Oscar Grant

Oscar Grant was a 22-year-old Black man who was killed in the early morning hours of New Year's Day 2009 by BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle in Oakland, California. Responding to reports of a fight on a crowded Bay Area Rapid Transit train returning from San Francisco, BART Police officers detained Grant and several other passengers on the platform at the Fruitvale BART Station. BART officer Anthony Pirone kneed Grant in the head and forced Grant to lie face down on the platform. Officer Johannes Mehserle drew his pistol and shot Grant. Grant was rushed to Highland Hospital in Oakland and pronounced dead later that day. The events were captured on bystanders' mobile phones. Owners would then upload the footage to YouTube. Both protests and riots took place in the following days.

On January 30, 2010, Alameda County prosecutors charged Mehserle with second-degree murder in their indictment for the shooting. Mehserle resigned from his position and pleaded not guilty. The trial began on June 10, 2010. On July 8, 2010, Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and not guilty of the murder charge.

Though initial protests on July 8, 2010, against the jury verdict were peacefully organized, after dark there were incidents of looting, arson, destruction of property, and small riots. Nearly 80 people were eventually arrested. On November 5, 2010, Mehserle was sentenced to two years, minus time served. He served his time in Los Angeles County Jail protective custody, held in a private cell for his safety. On June 13, 2011, Mehserle was released under parole after serving 11 months. Following a 2012 failed appeal of his conviction, Mehserle changed his name and his profession.

Oakland civil rights attorney John Burris filed a $25,000,000.00 wrongful death claim against BART on behalf of Grant's family. BART settled with Grant's daughter and mother for a total of $2,800,000.00 in 2011. It also settled with several of Grant's friends who had sued for damages because of police brutality. A separate suit by Grant's father did not result in a jury award, as it was decided that due to his imprisonment he was not sufficiently involved in Grant's life.

The killing, and the protests against it, were an important precursor to the Black Lives Matter movement, which began in 2013. The biographical drama film Fruitvale Station (2013), written and directed by Ryan Coogler, portrays the last 24 hours of Grant's life, his killing, and the immediate aftermath.

Oscar Juliuss Grant III (February 27, 1986 – January 1, 2009) lived in Hayward, California. He worked as a meat cutter at Farmer Joe's Marketplace in Oakland's Dimond District after jobs at several Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets. Grant had attended both San Lorenzo and Mount Eden high schools in San Lorenzo and Hayward, respectively, until the 10th grade and eventually earned his GED. Grant was on parole at the time of his death, having been released from prison following a 16-month sentence for gun possession.

Grant's funeral was held at the Palma Ceia Baptist Church in Hayward on January 7, 2009. His mother, sister, daughter, and girlfriend (his daughter's mother) filed a wrongful death claim against BART following his death. It was settled in 2011.

Johannes Sebastian Mehserle (born 1982, in Germany) was raised in the Bay Area. He graduated from New Technology High School in Napa, California.