Court Rules Officer Who Killed Oscar Grant Can Be Sued
The officer who shot and killed Oscar Grant on New Year’s Day 2009 may face a lawsuit.
Attempts by former BART officer Johannes Mehserle to claim police immunity were unanimously rejected by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Grant’s father and five of Grant’s friends sued in the aftermath of the incident, highlighted in the recently released movie “Fruitvale Station.” The complaint alleges that Mehserle should pay damages for Grant’s death, and that the three officers violated the civil rights of Grant’s friends when they were arrested early on New Year’s Day at the Fruitvale station in Oakland.
The 22-year-old Grant was fatally shot by Mehserle, who was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter in a 2010 trial that was moved to Los Angeles because of the extensive publicity. Mehserle claimed he mistakenly shot Grant in the belief he had drawn a Taser instead of his gun at the BART station.
Read more at Mercury News Online
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