Anger over BART shooting continues

  

OAKLAND, CA (KGO) -- The attention still focuses on the New Year's BART shooting that has now made national waves. BART Board members held a meeting Sunday afternoon in response to the deadly shooting of 22-year old OScar Grant on New Year's Day.

BART protestors heading to SF

A different kind of obstacle was expected in downtown San Francisco Monday night, when BART protestors are expected to take their outrage across the Bay for the first time. On Monday morning, BART riders also found a quieter form of protest in their seats waiting for them as they boarded.

BART Board members held a meeting Sunday afternoon in response to the deadly shooting of 22-year old Oscar Grant on New Year's Day. Tensions ran high.

BART Board gets earful from community

Prosecutor assigned to BART shooting

The Attorney General was very clear Saturday he would not take over the case. But, he will assign a prosecutor to observe the investigation into the death of Oscar Grant, the 22-year old shot by a BART police officer on New Year's Day. This came one day after Brown considered not taking an active role in the case at all.

Attorney general assigns prosecutor to BART case

Friday night was calm, but bigger protests feared

There wasn't any violence or vandalism on Friday night, but some worry anarchists and professional protesters may come to town over the BART shooting. Jim Wunderman, president and CEO of the Bay Area Council, is calling for police agencies around the Bay Area to help Oakland Police next week, when a nationally organized protest is expected.

>> BART shooting leads to plea for mutual aid

NAACP

The NAACP wants the State Attorney General, Jerry Brown, to get involved in the investigation. Brown said he will be looking at this case very carefully, but he wants to see the results of the existing investigations. Dorothy Dugger, BART's General Manager has given the nine BART investigators a deadline to complete their investigation within the next week. The president of the California chapter of the NAACP will meet with Jerry Brown on Saturday morning.

>> NAACP, AG to meet on BART shooting

The Officer

There are reports that the family of the officer who pulled the trigger is being terrorized by death threats. According to the Napa Valley Register, the threats are aimed at Johannes Mehserle, his parents, his wife, and their 1-week-old baby. It's gotten so bad, the family has been forced to moved to an undisclosed location.

Thursday night protest

On Thursday night, there was a strong police presence in downtown Oakland. About 40 people on Broadway, near Oakland's City Hall expressed their outrage over police brutality by kicking trash cans and cursing at officers. For about 30 minutes officers in riot gear watched the small crowd, gave an order to move, and those that didn't heed the warning were arrested.

There was such nervous energy throughout Oakland that major companies like Clorox, Wells Fargo, and Kaiser ordered their employees to go home at 2 p.m. before demonstrations got out of hand.

>> From Friday: Fearing more riots, businesses board up
>> Watch Lilian Kim's report from the streets of Oakland on Thursday night.

Multiple agencies investigate shooting

The Oakland Police Department is joining the investigation into the New Year's Day fatal shooting by a BART police officer. The Alameda County district attorney says the joint investigation may wrap up in two weeks. BART's police chief says his agency is conducting its own probe into the shooting death of 22-year-old Oscar Grant.

Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff says he hopes to bring the investigation to a conclusion in two weeks.

"And when you see what the end result is, I'm sure that not everyone will agree with it. There will always be people that disagree. But we'll be able to demonstrate that there has been a thorough, thoughtful, objective conclusion brought to this case which will bring justice to everyone concerned," said Orloff.

BART Police Chief Gary Gee added that his department has turned over all of its evidence to the district attorney's office, although BART police will continue their own investigation.

Community seeks answers from BART

Members of the BART Board of Directors met Thursday for the first time since the shooting, and apologized. They heard from dozens of outraged people seeking answers. Now BART wants to meet with community leaders on Sunday.

>> Read and watch Cecilia Vega's full report on the meeting.

Grant's family calls for calm

Grant's mother, Wanda Johnson, had a message for the public after Wednesday night's protests in Oakland turned violent.

"Please stop it. Please stop it and begin to pray and ask God to let justice prevail," said Johnson.

>> Read and watch Lyanne Melendez's full report on the family's reaction.

Vandalism on Oakland streets

No serious injuries were reported, but police arrested more than 100 people for smashing windows of businesses and damaging at least 25 cars during protests that got out of hand Wednesday night.

Shop owners and residents are now beginning the cleanup process.

>> Read and watch Laura Anthony's full report on affected businesses.

Rights of officers who are accused of crimes

The officer who pulled the trigger still has not been interviewed about what happened. ABC7 checked in with law enforcement experts about this, many of them critical of how BART investigators have handled this explosive case.

>> Read and watch Vic Lee's full report on peace officers' rights.

BART police oversight

An effort is now underway to keep a closer watch on the BART police force. State Senator Leland Yee and Assemblyman Tom Ammiano introduced legislation Thursday that would create an independent commission to oversee BART police.

Yee says accountability and oversight of the department is long overdue. He says unlike a panel now being considered by the BART board, the new commission would be made up entirely of members not affiliated with BART.

History of officer-involved BART shootings

The BART Police Department was established more than 35 years ago and during that time, its officers have been involved in five shootings -- four of which were fatal.

The last one was in November of 1992 at the Hayward station where a BART officer shot 19-year-old Jerrold Hall in the back of the head. BART police said at the time that he attacked the officer, but witnesses say Hall was walking away and that he was accused of stealing a radio from another passenger.

A BART review board determined the shooting was justified and the officer was cleared by the Alameda County district attorney.

>> BART shooting similar to 1992 incident
>> VIDEO VAULT: 1992 BART shooting

More ABC7 coverage:

• WARNING: This unedited passenger video contains graphic images and language: Watch the raw video of the shooting
• Watch video from minutes before the shooting
• Prosecutor assigned to BART shooting
• BART shooting leads to plea for mutual aid (1/9)
• NAACP, AG to meet on BART shooting (1/9)
• BART shooting similar to 1992 incident (1/9)
• Fearing more riots, businesses board up (1/9)
• ABC7's Lilian Kim reports: Thursday night protests (1/8)
• Howard Pinderhughes, Ph.D. discusses youth violence (1/8)
• ABC7's Alan Wang reports: Oakland police arrest protesters (1/7)
• ABC7's Lilian Kim reports: Officer resigns from BART police force (1/7)
• ABC7 photographer Dean Smith attacked (1/7)
• BART's Chief Spokesman Linton Johnson talks to ABC7's Dan Ashley (1/7)
• ABC7's Alan Wang reports: Protesters continue to march (1/7)
• ABC7's Cecilia Vega reports: Protesters shut down Fruitvale station; new cell phone video is revealed (1/7)
• RAW: Oakland protest, Pt. 1 (1/7)
• RAW: Oakland protest, Pt. 2 (1/7)

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