An attorney hired by the family of a man slain by a transit agency police officer early New Year’s Day says the victim was shot in the back while lying on his stomach waiting to be handcuffed. Attorney John Burris says 22-year-old Oscar Grant posed no threat to Bay Area Rapid Transit officers when Grant was fatally shot at around 2:15 a.m.
Agency spokesman Jim Allison says the officer’s gun went off while police were trying to restrain Grant at BART’s Fruitvale station, and that he was not cuffed. Allison says it is unclear if the shooting was an accident or deliberate, and that the agency is investigating.
Burris was hired by the mother of Grant’s 4-year-old daughter to investigate the incident. He says the Alameda County district attorney should investigate, noting that the officer had a stun gun as well as a firearm.
The unidentified officer is on administrative leave during the investigation.
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