Today the Oscar Grant trial kicks off in Los Angeles with a whole lot of drama surrounding the proceedings. The most glaring is police officers rallying to invoke the Policeman’s Bill of Rights which essentially allow officers on trial to not have their history brought up while the accused or in this case victims will have their entire history along with the history of friends and family brought up and dragged through the mud.
The judge overseeing this trial is Robert Perry who came under fire for allowing corrupt cops to walk during the infamous Rampart Scandal. He’s been doing everything in his power to tilt the trial in the direction of killer cop Johannes Mershele. Among one of his more egregious rulings is to put a gag order on the famed Police Brutality lawyer John Burris. If thats not enough, Mershele’s lawyer Michael Rain‘s is pushing to have Black people excluded from the jury… Yes you read that right, they are attempting to get Black people excluded from the jury. In the interview I did with Rachel last night, she didn’t mention this but called me this morning as I’m penning this to give me the update.. We will be following up on this big time.
Also the defense gets to have an expert ‘film’ witness who is claiming the videos we all saw where Grant got shot by Mershele also shows Grant trying to punch the cop. Yes, they are claiming Grant tried to hit the cop while on the ground being restrained. Here’s the latest on the ruling to allow expert video witness http://bit.ly/cGmZU1
Click HERE to listen to Rachel's comments on Oscar Grant Trial updates
Below is an audio clip with Oakland organizer Rachel Jackson explaining in detail some of the things that will be taking place during the trial…
Rachel also gave us a break down of Mershelee’s history. Apparently he was known to run around and brandish his taser at inappropriate times and sadly just weeks before he killed Oscar Grant he had beat down 41-year-old Kenneth Carrethers who is an engineer who was overheard complaining about the how ineffective BART police were when it came to preventing crimes.
According to reports Mershelee overheard the comments and confronted Carrethers. The end result was Carrethers being severely beaten, hog-tied and driven to 3 different hospitals as the out of control Mershelee attempted to find a place that would cover up his brutality.
Carrethers was charged with resisting arrest but those charges were dropped not too long after Grant was killed. Here’s Rachel Jackson explaining the details behind this case.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcxtjrjD7II
On the eve of the Oscar Grant trial which will be held in Los Angeles, Minister Keith Muhammad explains to an Oakland crowd the Policeman’s Bill of Rights and how it will impact the upcoming trial against former BART cop Johannes Mehserle…
He also talks about the steps organizers took to make history by bringing a police officer to trial for shooting a citizen. It’s the first time this has ever happened in California. He pointed out there have been more than 8000 citizens killed by police in the past 20 years and not one conviction for wrongful death..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ7OJVPnZIY
Also on the of the Oscar Grant Trial we heard this sista from BAMN (By Any Means Necessary) who’s name is Yvette Falarca. Here she lays down all the obstacles organizers overcame to get to this point in history where a killer cop (Johannes Mehserle) has been brought to trial. This is a first in California history..
She also talks about the evidence that will NOT be allowed in the upcoming trial which includes Mershelees past brutality incidents..
We are also reminded that that it is up to us to make sure that everyone involved is aware that injustice will not be accepted in the city of Oakland…All the stops are being pulled out to set up this trial to fail. It ranges from gag orders placed on certain organizers and spokespeople like Attorney John Burris on down to additional provisions from the policeman’s Bill of Rights being enforced.
great post, davey.
I should kick off this post by saying that I am a white male. Although I am half-Mexican, it doesn’t show on my skin, and I am not involved with Mexican culture. I am related to a police officer, although I am not very close with him, so I may be a little biased – please forgive me. I am no racist, nor am I a cop-sympathizer.
From my preliminary skimming of this article, I have a few complaints. First of all, I don’t think anyone should be prepared for an objective report about a racial issue off of a site called “Hip Hop and Politics”. As racist as this is going to sound, as soon as I saw the URL, I knew that the post would side with the black man. This is not to say that the cop is innocent or the black man is guilty – simply that this is not an objective report.
I believe that the cop is absolutely guilty in this case – panicking and bringing out a firearm instead of a taser is an egregious error that policemen are trained against. This man is not cut out to be a cop, and if he had realized that, perhaps this man would still be alive.
However, the man was struggling while he was under arrest, which is technically resisting arrest. Not all arrests are lawful, but please, readers, understand that the slightest struggle is resisting. It isn’t fair to innocent people, but if you are ever placed under arrest, simply submit. If you are innocent, the best you can hope for is to be released, and perhaps sue for unlawful arrest. Do NOT struggle – many innocent people are hurt or killed in this way.
See, cops have to be very careful. When they join the force, they hear stories. Stories about cops who were shot because a man reached into his glove compartment for what the cop thought was his proof of registration, but was actually a gun. When you are a cop, it feels like everyone is armed, and there is a knife in everyone’s pocket. They live under the constant threat of injury or death. When a cop tells you to get your hand out of your pocket, those stories are flashing through their minds.
As for the lawyer pushing to remove black people from the jury, yes, this sounds bad and I disagree with this. However, anyone familiar with the jury-selecting process should be able to tell you that this is not nearly as sickening a concept (removing blacks) as it sounds. When being selected, you are asked a series of questions. If the people selecting you feel you have a vested interest in the case, you are not allowed to be a juror. For instance, those who select juries for a rape case would be less inclined to put women on the jury, or married men, since the married men would see their wives as the victims and sympathize with the prosecutor. Removing all black people is extreme, I believe, but racial sympathy is an unfortunate yet very real factor impacting peoples’ objectivity. I would also like to point out that you are not allowed on the jury if you are a police man. There are no police on the jury, either. Is that any more right or wrong than having no black people on the jury? What if the jury was filled with Asians and Latinos instead of whites? Would you feel that an all-black jury was fair? What about a 50%-black jury?
These are questions for you to decide, but please, try to be objective.
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1300937&lang=eng_news&cate_img=logo_world&cate_rss=WORLD_eng
I find that the above article gives a slightly less subjective look at the issues surrounding the case; however, it does seem to lean towards the cop’s favor.
Please, I am trying not to offend anyone by saying this. I believe that the cop is wrong and should be tried for manslaughter, brutality, etc.
Dude what are u talking about? Save all that pyscho babble for someone else.. The cop had a history of beating people who weren’t even in his charge.. and 2 he shot Oscar Grant point blank.. There’s no debate.. There was no resistance except a verbal objection..lets not make this more than what it is.. The cop murdered someone and lots of money is being spent to defend the police departments reputation.
Did you read my post at all?
I acknowledge that the cop shot an unarmed man and should be tried for murder, I’m just saying that it wasn’t racially motivated.
I did read your post.. which is why I responded.. mesherle and his partner had a disdain for Black people.. I encourage you to check out the KTVU report http://www.ktvu.com/news/18600808/detail.html and
Also the racial epithets used by Tony Perrionne and his girlfriend speak to a culture that disrespected its Black and brown citizens.. Grant wasn’t a revealing party goer on new Years night. He was a nigger who needed to be shot.. thats what the problem was.. Its the fundmantal cause.. Not being able to see us as human beings
That doesn’t denote a disdain for black people. You’re seeing racism because you’re looking for it.
They “lost” his papers because they were worried about their own image, not because they felt that, as a black, he didn’t matter.
Well show me some white folks getting shot like this on Bart tracks to the same degree we have Blacks and I’ll see it differently.. Until then..the record speaks for itself..trying to nit pick dont change is racist ways..
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