Officer who killed Oscar Grant wins civil lawsuit

The BART officer who shot and killed Oscar Grant, a killing captured on cellphone cameras, has won a civil lawsuit against him.

Oscar Grant civil lawsuit

On Tuesday a San Francisco Jury said the ex-transit police officer would not be responsible for the killing of Oscar Grant in a civil lawsuit. Oscar Grant’s father filed the lawsuit against Mehserle.

Former BART officer Johannes Mehserle cried openly in court as he described shooting 22-year-old  Oscar Grant as he lay face down on the train platform.

Mehserle, 33, claims he mistakenly used his service revolver when he wanted to grab a Taser.

Grant Jr., who filed the suit for unspecified damages for the loss of his son, told the court. “They took the most precious thing in the world to me, my only child,”  according to CBS San Francisco.

BART, short for Bay Area Rapid Transit, had previously settled $175K with the five friends’ of Grant who had been detained. The transit company also paid $2.8 million to Grants’ mother and sister.

The shooting death of Oscar Grant sparked national outrage and a critically acclaimed movie chronicling the young man’s life before his death.

Source : Huffington Post