Tag: Thandisizwe Chimurenga

More than one hundred people met in Leimert Park in South Los Angeles on July 8 to protest the verdict of Involuntary Manslaughter for Johannes Mehserle, the murderer of Oscar Grant III. The rally lasted more than three hours as organizers, activists and concerned citizens called for justice for Oscar Grant and for accountability and control of the police in Black and Brown communities.

After 13 days of testimony, the defense rested Tuesday in People v. Johannes Mehserle with the calling of Dr. Thomas Rogers to the stand. Dr. Rogers authored the autopsy protocol which stated Grant’s cause of death was a gunshot wound to the torso. Rogers stated there was evidence of blunt force trauma to the left side of Grant’s head. At this point Oscar Grant’s mother began to weep uncontrollably.

Day 10 of the People v. Mehserle trial – Thursday, June 24 – ended with the defendant, Johannes Mehserle, taking the stand. The former BART police officer is accused of murder in the death of Oscar Grant. Defense attorney Michael Rains, seeking to humanize his client, asked what he was voted “most” of in high school: Mehserle was voted “Most Huggable.”

BART train operator Keecha Williams contradicted much of the testimony of former officer Pirone by stating that he never asked her if any of the young men he detained were involved in the fight, that he never asked her who she thought was involved and that she did not state that the young men placed against the concrete wall were the ones involved in the fight.

Pirone did not remember many of the details of the morning of Jan. 1, 2009, and at other points he remembered things quite vividly. He denied knowledge of walking over and striking Grant. Pirone does remember that Grant kept trying to “wiggle” his head out from under his knee; but his answer to Stein’s question, “Did you ever hear Oscar Grant say he ‘couldn’t breathe?’” was no.

Mehserle is not the only former officer whose actions that morning have been described as being out of line. All five of the previous week’s witnesses who video-recorded the events of Jan. 1, 2009, say they did so because of Pirone’s actions, which included cursing and an excessive use of force.

Everybody out for the MASS PROTEST FOR JUSTICE FOR OSCAR GRANT all day Monday, June 14, starting at 7 a.m. outside the LA Courthouse at 210 W. Temple at Broadway. Demand murder conviction of Johannes Mehserle, the first ever Cali cop to stand trial for an on-duty murder. Keep the courtroom packed throughout the trial. This is our chance to stop the militarized police occupation of Black and Brown communities. We are ALL Oscar Grant!

Everybody out for the MASS PROTEST FOR JUSTICE FOR OSCAR GRANT all day Monday, June 14, starting at 7 a.m. outside the LA Courthouse at 210 W. Temple at Broadway. Demand murder conviction of Johannes Mehserle, the first ever Cali cop to stand trial for an on-duty murder. Keep the courtroom packed throughout the trial. This is our chance to stop the militarized police occupation of Black and Brown communities. We are ALL Oscar Grant!

Phyllis Jackson thought “it was a chilling day” for Los Angeles. “Jury selection here banishes all Black people like the recent Equal Justice Initiative report found that Southern courts do, while allowing the jury to be stacked with people who have friends, family and businesses involved with law enforcement,” she said. Everybody out for the Mass Protest for Justice for Oscar Grant Monday, June 14, 8 a.m., at the LA courthouse.

As Oscar Grant triggerman Johannes Mehserle's trial approaches, issues that have been settled in court are still muddied in the media. Reports that Mehserle "allegedly shot" Grant abound, yet even Mehserle's lawyer admits his client did shoot Grant. And why are the media alluding to Grant's "criminal" past when the only evidence is a 2006 arrest for resisting arrest? Get ready to attend the trial at two forum-screenings of "Operation Small Axe" June 4 & 5 at the AFIBA Center in LA.

The U.S. Justice Dept. refuses to charge the NYPD officers who murdered Sean Bell on his wedding day in 2006. We can’t let this happen again; it’s ON US to get Oscar Grant’s killer cops convicted of murder! Minister of Information JR is hosting two events on two days, tonight in West Oakland and tomorrow in Los Angeles.

More than 40 people representing a diverse cross section of Los Angeles communities met at Chuco’s Justice Center Jan. 3 to plan for the press conference and protest on Jan. 8. Coming together as the Los Angeles Coalition for Justice for Oscar Grant, they were united by at least two common threads: outrage at the slaying of Grant and a belief that Mehserle should be convicted of murder.

An organizing meeting has been scheduled for Jan. 3 at 5 p.m. at Chuco’s Justice Center in Inglewood for people interested in monitoring the trial of Johannes Mehserle, the former Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer who shot Oscar Grant, an unarmed 22-year-old Black man, in the back on an Oakland BART platform on Jan. 1, 2009. Mehserle is the first police officer in California ever to be charged with murder.