DA: No new charges in Oscar Grant case
OAKLAND >> Despite pleas from family and supporters of Oscar Grant, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley announced she would not file new charges against an officer involved in Grant’s death in 2009.
O’Malley, who has long faced pressure to charge former BART Officer Anthony Pirone, made the announcement after meeting with Grant’s family Monday afternoon. While “condemning Pirone’s conduct in the strongest of terms,” she announced he could not be charged with murder or any other criminal offense.
“Although Pirone’s conduct was aggressive, utterly unprofessional and disgraceful, it did not rise to the mental state required for murder,” O’Malley said in a video statement.
O’Malley had announced in October that she would reopen the case almost 12 years after Grant was shot to death by a BART police officer, which sparked nationwide demonstrations and calls for racial justice.
O’Malley noted in her statement Monday that she holds her office to the strongest ethical standards, which must decide cases based on the facts.
“So undue influence, favoritism, prejudice, pressure or bias can never be part of the decision-making process,” she said.
At a press conference Grant’s family held Monday afternoon, his mother, the Rev. Wanda Johnson, continued to call for justice for her son, and for charges against Pirone.
“My heart hurts today because for 12 years I’ve been crying out for justice for my son,” she said.
“My son laid on the cold concrete with that Officer Pirone’s knee on his neck,” ” Johnson said. “My son’s head was smashed against the wall and he was kicked and he was pushed. Pirone still walks around free today.”
Despite O’Malley’s public announcement that her team’s investigation showed that Pirone “cannot be charged with murder or any other criminal offense,” Grant’s family members and attorneys said their meeting with her wasn’t so clear.
Charles Bonner, one of the attorneys representing the family, said O’Malley had agreed to meet further with them to review the evidence.
“The world should know this is the beginning today of a long march toward justice, toward equal justice,” Bonner said. “(O’Malley’s) willing to listen to the facts. She’s going to sit down with us and the family and consider what we have to present.”
He said he believes Pirone
is guilty under the felony murder rule and “will be charged.” He said the family will seek other remedies from jurisdictions at the state and federal levels.
In O’Malley’s video announcement Monday, she explained that there is not enough evidence to charge and convict Pirone of murder, including “aiding and abetting.”
A misdemeanor charge of assault under the color of authority was also ruled out now because the statute of limitations had expired.
O’Malley noted Pirone at the time was a “necessary, albeit hostile” witness in the prosecution of then-BART Officer Johannes Mehserle, who was convicted in Grant’s death.
Mehserle, who shot Grant
to death on New Year’s Day 2009, was charged with murder but convicted by a Los Angeles County jury of a lesser charge, involuntary manslaughter. He served 11 months in prison and was released in June 2011.
Mehserle said he had mistakenly grabbed his gun instead of his Taser when he shot Grant.
Grant’s family says it was Pirone who created “the climate of violence” by pinning Grant down with a knee to his neck — similar to what happened to George Floyd. Pirone was the first to arrive on the Fruitvale station platform that night, followed by his partner, Officer Marysol Domenici.
Pirone told civil rights attorney John Burris, who has represented Grant’s family
members in civil cases, in a deposition that he had used force because Grant took a swing at him after refusing orders to stay seated.
But according to videos and a 2009 BART police internal investigation report released last year, Pirone was largely responsible for what led up to Grant’s shooting.
“The actions of Officer Pirone started a cascade of events that ultimately led to the shooting of Grant,” the report said.
When Pirone and Domenici first responded to the BART station that night, Pirone entered the train car without his partner, disregarded his training and rushed through the initial investigation, the report found.
Pirone used profanity when speaking to Grant and his friends, at one point calling Grant a racial expletive, according to the report. Pirone is said to have punched Grant in the face, then kneed him in the head, applying pressure to Grant’s back to prevent his hands from becoming free.
When Pirone released his weight, Grant put his hands behind his back as instructed so he could be handcuffed, which is when Mehserle shot him.
East Oakland Councilmember Loren Taylor called O’Malley’s decision “more than a disappointment” during a press conference Tuesday he hosted with BART board directors Lateefah Simon and Bevan Dufty.
The Oakland City Council on Tuesday approved a resolution urging O’Malley to charge Pirone with felony murder and any other “applicable” charges, and BART’s governing board was scheduled to vote on a similar resolution on Thursday.
Simon said at the press conference Tuesday that she is calling on O’Malley to reconsider the decision to not press charges.
“It is a travesty,” Taylor said. “If not for the actions of Officer Pirone, Oscar would likely be here with us today.”