More than 150 people were arrested Friday night as angry protesters marched through the Lake Merritt area of Oakland following the sentencing of a former BART police officer in the killing of a young black man on a transit platform in 2009. The protest was touched off by what was viewed as the lightness of the sentence, two years in prison.

Oscar Grant, 22, was shot in the back by Johannes Mehserle on New Year’s Day, 2009, at a BART platform in Oakland.

Video of the killing is available here. –JCL

AP via MSNBC:

Residents of an Oakland neighborhood besieged by several hundred protesters following the sentencing of a former transit officer have awoken to broken car windows and debris.

Dozens of cars in the neighborhood near Lake Merritt showed signs of damage Saturday morning. Residents told KRON-4 they could not understand why protesters chose their neighborhood.

Read more

Your support is crucial...

As we navigate an uncertain 2025, with a new administration questioning press freedoms, the risks are clear: our ability to report freely is under threat.

Your tax-deductible donation enables us to dig deeper, delivering fearless investigative reporting and analysis that exposes the reality beneath the headlines — without compromise.

Now is the time to take action. Stand with our courageous journalists. Donate today to protect a free press, uphold democracy and uncover the stories that need to be told.

SUPPORT TRUTHDIG