California prosecutors are reopening the investigation into the 2009 death of unarmed Black man, Oscar Grant, who was killed by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) officers.
Grant was fatally shot January 1, 2009, while lying face down on a platform at the Fruitvale Station in Oakland.
Grant’s family demanded another look at the case during a news conference on Monday.
“I have assigned a team of lawyers to look back into the circumstances that caused the death of Oscar Grant,” Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley statement read. “We will evaluate the evidence and the law, including the applicable law at the time and the statute of limitations and make a determination.”
Officer Johannes Mehserle, the officer who shot Grant, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in July 2010
Officer Anthony Pirone was terminated following an internal investigation. He was supposed to also be charged — and his family wants him to face justice.
“Charge him for his actions that escalated instead of deescalating the situation that escalated and caused the loss of my son’s life,” Grant’s mother Wanta Johnson-Morris, said to reporters. “If all men are created equal, then we too should get the justice that we deserve.”