A BART police officer struggling to handcuff a 22-year-old man, stood up over the facedown Hayward resident and fired a single shot into his back while a handful of officers watched, a video taken by a train passenger apparently shows.
The attorney for the family of Oscar Grant III, fatally shot by an unidentified BART officer early New Year’s Day, said Sunday he plans to file a $25 million lawsuit against the department and asked prosecutors to consider filing murder charges against the officer.
The shooting occurred shortly before 2 a.m. Thursday after five officers responded to the Fruitvale station to reports of a fight on a train, officials said, though they have not confirmed whether Grant was involved in the fight.
The new video, obtained by television station KTVU, shows two officers restraining a struggling suspect. While the man is lying face down on the ground, one officer appears to be seen pulling out a gun and firing a single shot into his back.
Civil rights attorney John Burris, known for his work in several high-profile cases involving police abuse and corruption, said at a Sunday news conference that the shooting was “the most unconscionable shooting” he has ever seen. He said that the Alameda County district attorney should consider filing charges of second degree murder or manslaughter against the officer.
“I’ve drafted a notice of claim against BART for $25 million I plan to submit officially,” Burris said, adding that the officer had violated Grant’s civil rights and caused his wrongful death.
The video can be seen here. Obviously we don’t know the whole story about the struggle, but it does look pretty damning. The suspect’s family-not to mention the community-deserve answers.
Update by Lee:Here’s the meat and potatoes.
To me this looks like, at a minimum, manslaughter. The subject looks subdued, at least from this snippet of video. At the very least this officer should have to defend his actions in court.
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Probably meant to use a taser.