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Law Enforcement, News, Police Brutality

Charges Will Not Be Filed Against 2nd Officer Involved in Oscar Grant Shooting

Just months after the investigation into the Oscar Grant’s shooting was reopened, the Alameda County district attorney announced charges will not be filed against the second officer involved in the incident. According to the New York Times, Nancy O’Malley, the Alameda County district attorney, released a report outlining why charges couldn’t be brought against Anthony…

By

Joe Jurado

Published

January 12, 2021
Law Enforcement, News, Police Brutality

California District Attorney Reopens Investigation Into 2009 Police Killing of Oscar Grant

The 2009 shooting of Oscar Grant was a pivotal moment in the fight for police accountability: a graphic video showing a transit officer shooting Grant in the back was among the first of its kind, documenting a harrowing and deadly example of police brutality and setting off nationwide protests as millions bore secondhand witness to…

By

Anne Branigin

Published

October 7, 2020
News

Bay Area to Institute Strictest Measures Seen in the U.S. to Contain Rapid Coronavirus Spread in the Region

Officials in six Bay Area counties are about to institute the strictest measures seen yet in the U.S. in an effort to contain the rapid spread of coronavirus infection in the region. The “shelter in place” order requires all residents in those counties to stay in their homes and away from others as much as…

By

Zack Linly

Published

March 16, 2020
News

Nia Wilson's Killer Found Guilty of First Degree Murder

Nia Wilson was taking the train home when her life was suddenly and violently taken from her. Now, two years after that tragic event, justice has finally been served. John Lee Cowell, the man responsible for Wilson’s death, has been found guilty of first-degree murder, NBC Bay Area reports. It took the jury only two…

By

Joe Jurado

Published

March 12, 2020
News, Race Matters

Report: Black Commuters 6 Times More Likely to Be Cited by BART Police for Consuming Food, Drinks

Earlier this month, Steve Foster of Concord, Calif., made headlines when he was detained by BART police for—wait for it—“illegally eating.” And while many believe it was merely an isolated incident instead of the latest example of overzealous police selectively enforcing the law, a new report makes it explicitly clear that this type of behavior…

By

Jay Connor

Published

November 27, 2019
Law Enforcement, News

California Assembly Passes Bill Policing When Cops Can Use Deadly Force

The California Assembly overwhelmingly passed legislation Wednesday to change rules governing when cops in the state can use lethal force, despite last-minute opposition from some families of victims of police shootings who said compromises in the bill’s language watered down the legislation. Assembly Bill 392: The California Act to Save Lives changes the use-of-force standard…

By

Dara Sharif

Published

May 29, 2019
Legal, News

BART Officer Lied About Conduct During Arrest of Oscar Grant

According to documents released last week under a new California police transparency law, former BART police officer Anthony Pirone assaulted 22-yer-old Oscar Grant, called him the N-word, and lied about what led to another officer eventually opening fire and killing the young father, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Pirone claimed that he was “fighting for…

By

Ibn Safir

Published

May 5, 2019
Legal, News

Nia Wilson's Family Proposes Tracking Fare Evaders in Wrongful Death Suit Against BART

Nia Wilson’s family was supposed to be planning a graduation for her, not a funeral. But last summer, in a crime that sent shockwaves through the San Francisco Bay Area and the country, the 18-year-old high schooler was fatally stabbed in the neck on the platform of an Oakland Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station.…

By

Anne Branigin

Published

April 16, 2019
Law Enforcement, News, Police Brutality

Oscar Grant Was Killed by a BART Officer 10 Years Ago. Now His Family Fights to Rename the Station He Died In

Almost 10 years ago, Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old black man, was fatally shot by a Bay Area Rapid Transit officer in Oakland, Calif., on New Year’s Eve. With the anniversary of his death approaching, Grant’s family is asking for BART and the city of Oakland to recognize him by renaming the station where he was…

By

Anne Branigin

Published

December 11, 2018
News

Man Accused in Nia Wilson's Killing Gets Upgraded Charge, Could Face Death Penalty

The 27-year-old white man who is accused of stabbing and killing 18-year-old Nia Wilson at a BART train stop in Oakland, Calif., in July will likely not get hit with hate crime charges—but may still get the death penalty. On Wednesday, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office hit John Lee Cowell with a special circumstance…

By

Anne Branigin

Published

August 24, 2018