The policeman was going for his taser but in the heat of the moment pulled his handgun by accident. You guys realize this, right? It was a tragic accident to be sure but it is not a racially motivated one. Why did a movie need to be made about this? Do me need to make a movie every time someone is accidentally killed by someone else?
shareThinking this was an accident is ridiculous, a trained policeman pulls out a gun thinking it is a tazer !! you are kidding me. Not to mention his safety should have been on so would have had to take that off.
Speaking as a Brit and obviously not used to such police behavior and not used to such a divided society I find the whole thing abhorrent, yes the policeman was scared but it was prejudices that forced his hand and clearly he should never have been a cop and never have been armed, christ on a bike he should not have even been going for a tazer there was no need for that. The cops should not even have been there, what an over reaction to a minor scuffle on a train, perfect example how to exaggerate a situation and create violence.
The judge should have laughed the "I thought it was my Tazer" out of court and sent the cop down down for 20 years, a message needed to be sent to the people and that message should have been one of standing up for the poor guy - for once.
BART cops aren't trained well. They're not typical city cops. They deal with the transit system. An officer of the Oakland Police Department would most likely be much better trained, as Oakland has always had high crime rates. A couple years after this, a BART officer accidentally killed a fellow BART officer with his gun. Naturally, people made a bunch of jokes about BART cops being terrible with guns, with internet comments like "he must have thought it was a taser".
The guy sitting right next to Grant said that Mehserle was saying "I'm going to tase him" and he seemed all shocked when he realized that he shot him, so apparently he did think it was a taser. Another theory I have read is that he pulled out his gun intentionally to intimidate Grant but accidentally shot him.
I don't think he would shoot him like that in front of countless witnesses and with all the technology nowadays people have to record things. If he was an sadistic, crooked, murderous cop who did in fact mean to murder him, then he's an idiot to think he could do that in a public setting like that and get away with it. He got a light sentence, but the mindset of some psycho crooked cop isn't gonna be "well I only did a little prison time and only lost my job so I got off easy". Getting away with it in his mind would be no repercussions so he could continue being a bad cop and terrorizing people.
I don't think it is that easy to confuse a taser with a real gun. Those are 2 very different things used very differently. It seems very weird to me that it is possible in a situation where you life is at least not in danger. Also, he was lying down and not moving. I don't know what happened but mistaking a taser for a gun is something very unlikely.
shareDid you even see the movie? You would know that it never even hinted that it was racially motivated. It just showed it how it happened...and the movie wasn't all about THAT incident, it was about a flawed individual who many can relate to (since nobody is perfect)...and trying to make changes in his life for his daughter and girlfriend. It kind of plays with "destiny" with decisions he makes (or influenced to make) which leads to his untimely death.
"Why did a movie need to be made about this?"...well I would have maybe asked that before I saw it, but now that I've watched it...it made me want to be a better person, THAT'S why it was made. It shows that love is strong, and the way it films "his final hours" was so beautiful that I couldn't even hold back tears. It reminds us that these tragedies happen ALL the time.
For a directorial debut from Ryan Coogler...it was PERFECT. For Michael B. Jordan...he shined...for Oscar Grant, it cemented a legacy for him. It was HIGHLY respectful towards Oscar Grant and his family...his family became friends with Ryan Coogler, and now I can see why.
If you actually watched this movie and asked that...I'm surprised, because this movie is beautiful in every sense of the word. They even filmed it right over the bullet hole that remains in the brick at Fruitvale Station.
Seriously though...JUST because it's a movie staring mostly black people, directed by a black person, about a black person who got shot by a white cop DOES NOT mean it tries to bash white people. "Racism" never even came up in the entire film. They even show the officer's reactions as shocked...the one who fired the gun looks like he can't believe what he had just done, and doesn't know why...while the other officer who was a hard-ass at first, sympathized with Oscar as he lay bleeding..telling him to keep his eyes open, you could tell he was sad.
Also...with all that said...the OFFICER said he mistook his gun for his taser. While that might be true, only him and God know the truth. It most likely was an accident...but WTF...even if it was an accident...it doesn't make it alright. These officers FORCED him onto the ground, put their knees on his head while telling him to roll over (which he obviously couldn't), they abused him whether you want to believe it or not...HE WAS ABUSED/HARASSED...and then...for ABSOLUTELY NO REASON he was SHOT. Even if the officer DID use his taser, he had NO reason to. He was not a threat...he was unarmed...he was subdued (with many other cops around) there was ABSOLUTELY NO REASON for an "accident" like that...and then you just assume this movie was made to attack white people. YOU are paranoid aren't you? Do you think all "black" movies are out to get you or something?
Like I said..."accident" or not...this "accident" NEVER should have happened. The officer only served 11 months in jail which is disturbing to me. I guess we can just shoot people now when they are CUFFED and laying face down on the ground and call it an "accident" nowadays and only serve 11 months for MURDER. Look at it however you want...it was murder. If you are THAT STUPID and you wear a badge, and you "MISTAKE" your handgun for your taser...you were either poorly trained, or have absolutely NO brain and it is amazing how someone that stupid can become law enforcement.
Even if it was an accident, there was no need to get so violent with them when they didn't even do anything wrong. They were handcuffed, unarmed and on the ground. Why on Earth would you need a taser?
shareIt's easy to say it was an accident when you put yourself in the cops shoes. Except that cop had specialized police training and years of experience in dealing with these situations. He's held to a much higher standard then you or me. If we just put on a cop uniform and on our first day confused a gun with a taser.
Cops have to fire their gun hundreds of times a month, learn every part of its function, clean and reassemble them. It is taught to be an extension of them. So yes, it's no different then a surgeon cutting the wrong leg off because he got "confused". Sure any regular guy would do the same thing, forget about the lack of 8 years of medical school...
"Common sense is not so common"