Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old Black man, was killed in the early hours of New Year’s Day, January 1, 2009, at Fruitvale BART Station in Oakland, California. Officers had responded to reports of a fight on a crowded train returning from San Francisco; Grant and several other passengers were detained on the platform. Video filmed by bystanders shows Officer Anthony Pirone kneeing Grant in the head and forcing him face down, and Officer Johannes Mehserle then drawing a pistol and shooting Grant in the back. Grant was taken to Highland Hospital and pronounced dead later that day.

The shooting and the widely circulated footage intensified public outrage and protests. Alameda County prosecutors charged Mehserle with second-degree murder on January 30, 2010; he pleaded not guilty. The trial began June 10, 2010, after being moved to Los Angeles. Mehserle said he intended to draw a Taser but pulled his gun instead. On July 8, 2010, a jury convicted him of involuntary manslaughter and acquitted him of second-degree and voluntary manslaughter; he was sentenced to two years and served 11 months. Grant’s family filed a $50 million lawsuit against BART that settled for $2.8 million.

Who knew Oscar or was at Fruitvale that night and can add detail to what happened on the platform?