The offices of Youth Radio along Broadway were plastered with plywood Saturday in preparation for a rally planned for Sunday over Johannes Mehserle’s early release from jail.
The former San Francisco Bay area transit officer was jailed for fatally shooting an unarmed man. He is expected to be released from Los Angeles County Jail Monday after serving 11 months of a two-year sentence.
A jury convicted the 29-year-old ex-Bay Area Rapid Transit Officer last year of involuntary manslaughter for killing Oscar Grant on an Oakland train station platform New Year's Day 2009.
Mehserle testified he meant to use his stun gun instead of his handgun.People angered over Mehserle's early release have planned to rally at the Fruitvale BART station at 3 p.m. and march to City Hall at 14th Street and Broadway.
The T-Mobile store on Broadway was also boarded up. The manager said the building owner took the precaution Saturday morning, because of damage that occurred last summer.Last year, outrage over Mehserle's case erupted into rioting and looting, causing hundreds of $1,000s of damage downtown.A Footlocker store and a family-owned beauty supply store were especially hard hit last year.Since then, the beauty store has installed metal barriers to keep its merchandise safe.
Many people said that the agitators last year were from outside Oakland.Merchants said they hope Sunday's protests stay peaceful.“Time has not healed the wounds, but some of that has dissipated,” said Art Pollard owner of Mr. K. Menswear. “But there is still high anxiety among the merchants of this area, because whether or not we have rioting, it is always going to affect business. People don't want to come to downtown, they're not comfortable. We don't know what's going to happen. We really don't.Oscar Grant's uncle has promised he'll guard the menswear store's doorway tomorrow if necessary.
Grant's family has always argued for peaceful protest and against property damage.The city of Oakland sent out an advisory to merchants about the march, indicating that police will be a strong presence and stated that vandalism or violence won't be tolerated.As many as 100 police officers will be on hand Sunday.BART officials are also preparing for Sunday's planned protests.In a statement on its website, BART said some stations may be temporarily closed or there may be service adjustments as circumstances warrant. Advisories will be published as often as necessary and expeditiously as possible.
No comments:
Post a Comment