Raw : Police Restore Order After Bart Shooting Protestors Get Unruly

Jan 7, 2009 7:44 pm US/Pacific BART Shooting Protest Turns Violent Officer Resigns After Fatal New Years Shooting OAKLAND A protest over the shooting of an unarmed man on a train platform by Bay Area Rapid Transit police turned violent Wednesday night, just hours after the officer who fired the deadly shot resigned. Protestors set a large garbage dumpster on fire and attacked a police car, smashing the back window and attempting to overturn it. The crowd of about 400 people prompted BART to interrupt service at Fruitvale station and later at Lake Meritt station when protesters marched toward there. Representatives for 27-year-old Johannes Mehserle submitted the resignation letter on his behalf, according to BART officials. Twenty-two-year-old Oscar Grant of Hayward was lying face-down on the station platform when he was shot and killed early New Year's Day. Mehserle was one of several officers responding to reports about groups of men fighting on a train. BART officials said Mehserle was scheduled to meet with agency investigators on Wednesday, but did not show up. His attorney and union representative turned in the resignation letter. The shooting is also being investigated by the Alameda County District Attorney's office. Mehserle's attorney did not immediately respond to calls for comment Wednesday. Grant's family has filed a $25 million wrongful death claim against BART and want prosecutors to file criminal charges against Mehserle. Hundreds of Grant's friends and family members attended a funeral for Grant, the father of a 4-year-old girl, at a Hayward church Wednesday.

LiveLeak | January 7, 2009

Tags:. .fruitvale. .dumpster. .unruly. .protestors. .alameda