COMMUNITY MEMBERS gathered Thursday for the 17th annual Oscar Grant vigil in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood.
Grant, 22, was shot dead on New Year’s Day 2009 by a BART police officer on a platform at the Fruitvale BART station, while another officer pinned him to the ground with his knee.
Videos captured by onlookers were publicized on television and the internet, precipitating widespread protests demanding police accountability.
The officer who shot Grant, Johannes Mehserle, was tried for murder but was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter after he claimed that he intended to use his taser and not his service weapon. He was sentenced to two years in prison but was released in 2011 after serving 11 months.
Anthony Pirone, the officer who pinned Grant down, was not charged, and while his conduct was “offensive and unacceptable,” there wasn’t enough evidence to charge him with murder, according to a 2021 report by then Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley.
At Thursday’s vigil, community members led prayers, sang songs, performed prayer dances, and spoken word poetry to pay tribute to Grant and other victims of police brutality like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
“We can never get justice when they steal our loved ones,” said Cat Brooks, executive director of the Anti-Police Terror Project and one of the speakers at the vigil. “What we demand is accountability, and what we refuse to do is forget.”
The vigil was organized by the Oscar Grant Foundation, a nonprofit established in 2010 by Grant’s mother, Wanda Johnson, to uplift youth from underserved communities.
“We celebrate his [Grant’s] life, we celebrate the fact that he was a catalyst for change in America,” said Johnson before the vigil, standing in front of a mural of Grant outside the Fruitvale BART station. “The Oscar Grant Foundation works to bridge the gap — we offer tutoring programs, we offer scholarships, school supplies, and backpacks, we really work to ensure that our students are provided with what they need to be successful in society.”
The vigil was originally scheduled to take place outside the Fruitvale BART station but due to rain was relocated to the nearby Oscar Grant Youth Power Zone.
To commemorate Grant’s 40th birthday, the Oscar Grant Foundation will hold its Legacy Gala on Feb. 28 at Scott’s Seafood in Jack London Square, Oakland.
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