A Community Outraged By Oscar Grant Murder Verdict

Police brutality is a topic that I have addressed on this blog on numerous occasions and this reoccurring theme has presented itself again with the uproar that has resulted from the recent sentencing of Johannes Mehserle, the former Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer, charged with the New Year’s Day shooting of 22-year old, unarmed Oscar Grant.   Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The conviction carries a maximum sentence of four years; however, the additional guilty gun charge may enhance the sentence by as much as four more years.

Many in the Bay area community and across the country are outraged over the lenient sentencing claiming that justice has not been served and further maintaining that the system places no value on the lives of African-American males.  This tragedy and the many I have examined on previous post dealing with this topic present a broader endemic and systemic problem that needs to be addressed.  Everyone recognizes the inherently valuable function of the law and law enforcement in maintaining order in society.  However, many will also recognize that over the history of our country, the conflict between race and society has been a reoccurring theme especially the historical relationship between law enforcement and the African-American community.  Such a relationship is undoubtedly complex and many have suggested that the contentious history has led to a mutual distrust which has resulted in a lack of accountability on both sides.  However, I employ both law enforcement and the African-American community not to allow these historical biases to continue to influence and dictate present conditions but rather use our collective history as a catalyst to encourage proper intervention and collective action in order to promote fair enforcement of the law, positive interactions and accountability.  I encourage everyone to utilize the freedoms provided to them under the First Amendment and speak out against police brutality.  The application of our laws is tasked to our law enforcement agencies and we must hold them accountable for their misconduct; however, it is very clear that distrust breads distrust and as a society we will continue to face these challenges if we do not leave our biases at the door and engage in an active dialogue to confront this topic head on.