Oscar Grant III was a 22-year-old African-American man who was killed in the early morning hours of New Year's Day 2009 by BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle in Oakland, California. Responding to reports of a fight on a crowded Bay Area Rapid Transit train returning from San Francisco, BART Police officers detained Grant and several other passengers on the platform at the Fruitvale BART Station. BART officer Anthony Pirone kneed Grant in the head and forced Grant to lie face down on the platform. Mehserle drew his pistol and shot Grant. Grant was rushed to Highland Hospital in Oakland and pronounced dead later that day. The events were captured on bystanders’ mobile phones. Owners disseminated their footage to media outlets and to various websites where it went viral. Both protests and riots took place in the following days.
Oscar Grant III
Fruitvale BART station, where Grant was shot and killed
Protesters holding signs on January 8, 2009
March for Oscar Grant, 14 January 2009
Fruitvale station is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station located in the Fruitvale District of Oakland, California. The elevated station has two side platforms. The station is served by the Orange, Green, and Blue lines.
Fruitvale station in March 2018
Protesters after the 2009 police shooting of Oscar Grant