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Crosscurrents

Oscar Grant's Father Reacts To New Details On His Son's Killing

Steve Drown
Oscar Grant Jr. has served 32 years for a murder he didn't directly commit. How does that change his view of justice?

From the series Uncuffed:

Oscar Grant Jr. is incarcerated at Solano State Prison. Ten years ago, a BART officer killed his son, Oscar Grant III. A new report contradicts that officer’s defense.

The report, released in May after a public information request by news organizations, shows that officer Johannes Mehserle reached for his gun multiple times and looked at it before drawing it, casting doubt on his defense that he meant to use his Taser.

"It's hard for me to forgive. I'll be honest. But if I could sit down with any of those people I want to ask them, 'why you ain't never apologized to my family?'"

Another officer, Anthony Pirone, broke with protocol by violently escalating the arrest. He hit and kneed Grant, and even repeated the n-word, after hearing Grant use it first.

When we saw the news report, we brought Grant Jr. into the studio to find out how he reacted as a father. 

This is Oscar Grant Jr’s second interview with Uncuffed. Listen to the first:
Oscar Grant’s incarcerated father speaks out, ten years after his son’s killing

Uncuffed is produced by men at Solano State Prison. Learn more about them here.

KALW’s radio training program at Solano State Prison is supported by the California Arts Council, with funding from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The producers fact-check content to the best of their ability. All content is approved by a prison information officer.

Email KALW's Uncuffed editors.

Write to the Uncuffed producers at Solano State Prison:

Uncuffed
Level 3 Education / Media Lab
P.O. Box 4000
Vacaville, CA
95696-4000

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Crosscurrents From The Producers Of Uncuffed
Brian “bf” Thames has published five non-fiction books while incarcerated over the last 30 years. A pending 6th book advocating self-reliance and better decision making in potentially dangerous encounters is on the way. Learning languages is an exciting pastime for him. He’s become reasonably fluent in French, conversational in Spanish, and learned ASL during the Covid-19 pandemic. His favorite animals are Great Danes, and any variation of parrots/parakeets. Acquiring general knowledge and education about the world and existence tends to make him giddy.
Dámon “L.A.” Cookë or “The Nomad” is a true force of nature