Police Officer Shoots Apparently Helpless Man in the Back

by TheCameraObscura | January 7, 2009 at 07:34 pm
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Two videos showing a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer fatally shooting an unarmed, cooperating 22-year-old man have surfaced, thanks to a vigilant teen and an anonymous cameraman. In the video, the apparent shooting happens towards the end of the tape.

According to officials, five officers arrived at a subway station around 2 a.m. in response to reports of fighting on a train. Officers handcuffed a group of suspects, and detained the soon-to-be victim, Oscar Grant III.

In both videos, though detained, Grant had clearly not been cuffed.

Mario Pangelina Jr., aunt to Grant’s four-year-old daughter, witnessed the events leading up to the shooting.

“First, an officer grabbed Oscar by the neck and pushed him against the wall,” the Oakland Tribune quoted her as saying. “Oscar didn’t fight him, but he didn’t go down either. He was like, ‘What did I do?’ Then another officer came up with his Taser and held it right in his face. Oscar said, ‘Please don’t shoot me, please don’t Taser me, I have a daughter,’ over and over again, real fast, and he sat down.”

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