What We Want and What We Believe

WHAT CAPE WANTS AND WHAT WE BELIEVE

1. We want the immediate arrest, indictment, and prosecution of BART police officer, Johannes Mehserle for the murder of Oscar Grant III.

We believe Oscar Grant III was maliciously murdered, robbed of his human and civil rights, and killed , in part, because of his race, class, youth, and dress which constitutes a classic case of racial profiling at best and at worst , a systemic BART philosophy of harassment, intimidation and violence as regards it patrons and citizens.


2. We want the release of the names and suspension of all the officers accompanying Officer Mehserle on January 1, 2009 at the Fruitvale BART shooting until a thorough and comprehensive investigation has taken place.

We believe that Officer Mehserle’s actions were not a case of a ‘bad apple’, but indicative of a particular mentality and culture within BART police in particular and law enforcement in general that views young, black males as suspects, criminals, and enemies.

3. We want a public review of BART history, police policy, strategy, and philosophy to assess whether (A). BART police are really needed and (B). If needed, whether or not they need guns.

We believe that the BART police force operates from policies and attitudes that are biased, militaristic, and racist and this philosophy is manifested in the actions and attitudes of its officers. Consequently, we recommend a citizen review of all such policies with the intent of creating a citizen review board to monitor excessive force, supervise implementation of diversity training and conduct an analysis on whether funds allocated for police might best be used differently.

4. We want BART, in the spirit of restorative justice, to make community restitution, in part, by funding community based healing centers throughout the city for grief counseling, conflict resolution, and healing.

We believe that the murder of Oscar Grant III is the latest chapter and Oakland’s version of police, intra-community, terrorist and war violence that presently engulfs the planet. Only through concerted effort, understanding, and dedicated work and discipline can our city extricate itself from this madness. Institutions whose sole purpose is the healing of hearts (that have been wounded by violence) are needed throughout the world to show our communities, nation, and world that there is a better way.

Letter from Valerie Bell, Sean Bell's mother

Dear Wanda Johnson:

Greetings from Mr. And Mrs. William and Valerie Bell from the other side of the country, New York City! We would like to send our deepest condolences to you and your family for the sudden loss of Oscar Grant. As parents who have lost a son unexpectedly from the hands of the Police Department, we can definitely empathize with the pain and suffering you and your family are going through right now. You all are in definitely in our prayers, and we stand in solidarity with you as you all pursue the justice we are still trying to get for our son, Sean Elijah Bell.

The senseless murders of our young people by the hands of the police have been going on for far too long now, and I am willing to do whatever I can do to make sure these incidents happen Never Again! As founder of a new organization, Mother of Never Again (M.O.N.A), we will make sure our voices will be heard, so that these policemen and politicians understand that our children are human beings, not some type of savages you hunt down in the woods! Ms. Johnson, if there’s anything I can do to further your cause, please let me know.

Although we have a new administration coming to Washington, DC on Tuesday, the police brutality and murders of our young people—from Oscar Grant to Adolph Grimes in New Orleans—will not end unless we all take a stand! It is my hope that we can all come together and work to attain this common goal, and I pray that you will receive the justice that your family and Oscar sorely deserves. Again, you are in our prayers as you and your family go through this long and trying time.

“God will get the Glory while Sean Elijah Bell gets his rightful story”….We hope Oscar will, too.


Regards,

Mrs. Valerie Bell

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Learn more about Sean Bell's murder.

New Art from Damian Diaz

UPDATED: Actions Planned Across the Nation

On Monday we had a national call for folks planning solidarity actions with the January 14th National Day of Nonviolent Action to Protest the Murder of Oscar Grant III (& all victims of police brutality) to share their plans. The event will be called 'Praying for Peace, Working for Justice'.

If you didn't hear about the call, please don't be sad at us - we're trying to keep in touch with a lot of organizers locally and nationally, as well as the press. As you can imagine, it's a LOT to deal with. The good thing is, Wednesday is shaping up to be a beautiful, healing event with members from the faith, youth, organizing and small business community coming together with demands for justice.

We have solidarity actions happening in 15 cities, including Atlanta, Boston, LA, and more.

We've already had some small steps towards success, but we won't stop till our demands are met.

Please check out www.ruckus.org/oscargrant for an action kit to help out if you are planning actions, and a list of participating cities and details about each gathering.

Who is Oscar Grant III?

Oscar Grant was a 22 year old young man from Hayward who loved to fish, spend time with his family and was a dedicated father to his 4 year old daughter. In the early hours of New Years Day, Oscar was pulled off the train at the Fruitvale BART station along with 3 other young men who were being detained as BART officers searched for suspects in a fight that started at West Oakland BART. In front of hundreds of BART patrons who were halted from reaching their destination, an unarmed Oscar was told to lay on the cold BART platform and with hands behind his back, Officer Johannes Meherles pulled out his gun, stood over Oscar and shot him in the back where the bullet richocheted and logged in his lung. Many people captured the shooting with cell phone cameras and the world saw injustice...

Oscar died leaving many to ask why was did this officer use excessive force? 7 days after the incident, Meherles has yet to be charged with the murder of Oscar Grant III and BART has yet to investigate the incident.

WHAT CAPE WANTS DONE
We demand for the criminal prosecution of ALL officers involved in the incident at the Fruitvale BART station that resulted in the death of Oscar Grant III.

We demand that BART hand over this investigation to the CA State Department of Justice.

We demand that BART provide the community a forum to voice their concerns and to present to the public, a policy that will ensure that this will never happen again.

The video is graphic and disturbing, but it is the truth and the truth must be told... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idJAr6NUy3E