Moving Forward

(11 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

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On January 1, 2009, a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police officer shot and killed 22 year old Oscar Grant in Oakland, California.

I imagine that, like me, if you’ve seen the horrific video of this, you were stunned. The officer who shot Grant, Johannes Mehserle, has resigned from his position and refused to give testimony or any interviews.

This story has haunted me since I saw the video. It is a horrible act of violence that ended the life of this young man who was remembered by those who loved him last Wednesday.

But then I began to wonder what would happen if the Oakland area prosecutor was to say that s/he was not going to investigate or prosecute this crime because it had happened in the past and s/he wanted to move forward. After all, the officer responsible no longer has his job and I’m sure the BART leadership would be willing to promise that this will not happen again under their watch.

What would be the message to Oscar’s family and loved ones if that were to happen? What would be the message to the community of the Oakland area? And what would be the message to other BART officers?

This is why we have laws against murdering innocent people. And perhaps if there is a higher standard of conduct to be applied, its should be to those who are charged with protecting the public. If we don’t investigate and prosecute a crime like this, our society descends into chaos.

By now you’ve probably realized that I am drawing an analogy with the Bush administration and its torture practices. We might be removed from the chaos that these policies have created in that most of the blowback from them is happening in other places around the world. But chaos ensues and will continue until we as a nation stand up and show the world that what has been done was wrong and those who are responsible will be brought to justice.

Just as Oscar’s loved ones and the community in Oakland can’t move forward from this tragedy until justice is served, neither can the United States. A standard that had been set for the international community has been completely disregarded. And our moral authority to engage in any kind of diplomacy or dialogue on international issues will be tainted until we put it right.

I hope you’ll join me in signing the petition for a special prosecutor. The victims of our torture deserve no less than what we expect for Oscar Grant.

You can read more about the petition here.