Hundreds March in Oakland on Anniversary of Oscar Grant’s Killing

A march and vigil was held Sunday to mark the third anniversary of Oscar Grant's murder.

By Jorge Rivas Jan 02, 2012

Sunday marked the third anniversary of the shooting death of unarmed BART passenger Oscar Grant by a transit officer. Hundreds marched from Oakland’s City Hall to the Fruitvale BART station where Grant was shot on New Year’s Day in 2009 during a confrontation with former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle. "The pain is still hurtful," Grant’s mother, Wanda Johnson, said at the vigil, according to the [Oakland Tribune.](http://www.insidebayarea.com/oakland-tribune/ci_19658347) She held a long red taper candle in the air and Grant’s daughter, Tatiana, sat nearby. "I still lay awake at night crying," Johnson said. A jury convicted Mehserle of involuntary manslaughter in Grant’s death, but he was released from prison last June after serving less than a year of his sentence. A 2011[ Colorlines.com investigation](https://colorlines.com/archives/2011/08/deadly_secrets_how_california_law_has_shielded_oakland_police_violence.html) that included a brief history of Oakland Police Department shootings found Mehserle is the only police officer charged by the Alameda County DA for a shooting. Below is video of Grant’s mother and uncle speaking at the vigil on Sunday.