Crime

5th Anniversary Vigil in Memory of Oscar Grant

Published

11 years ago

January 2, 2014

Over 200 community members joined the family and relatives of Oscar Grant for a vigil Wednesday to commemorate the Jan. 1, 2009 killing of the 22-year-old father who was on his way home after a New Year’s celebration in San Francisco.

(left to right) Grant’s girlfriend Sophina, daughter Tatiana, and mother Wanda.

Grant’s mother, girlfriend and 9-year-old daughter joined the vigil at the Fruitvale BART station, Also at the memorial were other family members, filmmaker Ryan Coogler who made Grant’s story into an acclaimed film last year, “Fruitvale Station,” and a rappers Jasiri X and Ras Ceylon.

Grant’s killing led to widespread protests and community outrage. Ultimately, the BART officer who shot and killed the young man as he lay face down on the train platform was arrested, convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sent to prison.

“Right now, we know there’s an imbalance,” said Grant’s mother, Wanda Johnson. “We don’t want to focus just on police but on murder in general. We want to work to create peace and love and harmony.”

“It’s still hard to accept what happened, but it makes it easier that we have this community of support,” said Chantay Moore, 33, Grant’s sister.

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Oakland Post: Week of November 13 – 19, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 13 – 19, 2024

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1 day ago

November 16, 2024

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Oakland Post: Week of November 6 – 12, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 6 – 12, 2024

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1 week ago

November 9, 2024

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Bay Area

Alameda County Judge Blasts Defendants Over Delay in West Oakland Fire Trial

Judge Kimberly Lowell excoriated the RadiusRecycling/SchnitzerSteel defendants in court for causing delays in prosecuting this case. Since the defendants first appeared in court on July 23, they have obtained three extensions of the arraignment date.

Published

2 weeks ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Criminal charges announced this week are related to the August 2023 scrap metal fire at Radius Recycling Inc., formerly Schnitzer Steel. Photo courtesy of Oaklandside.

Special to The Post

District Attorney Pamela Price announced that a hearing was held on October 30 in the criminal prosecution of the Radius Recycling/Schnitzer Steel involving a fire at the West Oakland facility on Aug. 9-10, 2023.

The Alameda County criminal Grand Jury indicted radius Recycling and two of its corporate managers in June 2024.

The court clarified that the defendants will not receive more extensions on their arraignment and plea.

Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price agreed with the court that defendants should not get preferential treatment. Price and her team appreciated the court for clarifying that future delays by Radius will not be tolerated.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s (BAAQMD) public data shows that during and after the fire, the smoke plume traveled across Alameda County with high levels of PM 2.5 (Particulate Matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter) detected around Laney College in Oakland, Livermore, Pleasanton, and West Oakland.

PM2.5 is particularly harmful to infants and children, the elderly, and people with asthma or heart disease.

“This fire posed a great health hazard to the people of Alameda County,” said Price. “High, short-term exposures to a toxic smoke plume have been shown to cause significant danger to human health.

“Additionally, in this case, Oakland firefighters battled the blaze under extremely dangerous conditions for 15 hours with assistance from a San Francisco Fire Department fireboat and a fireboat from the City of Alameda Fire Department,” Price observed.

The team prosecuting the case from the DA’s Consumer Justice Bureau looks forward to resolving any future motions and having the defendants arraigned in court on Dec. 9.

The media relations office of the Alameda County District Attorney’s office is the source of this report.