No charges for second officer connected to death of Oscar Grant

Former transit officer will not face charges for involvement in the fatal shooting of a black man in 2009, following review

Protests in 2011 over the death of Oscar Grant  (AP)

A second officer involved in the death of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old black man who was fatally shot at a San Francisco train station in 2009, will not face charges.  

A prosecutor announced the decision not to charge the officer, Anthony Pirone, on Tuesday, following a months-long review into Grant’s death, that came at his family’s request.

Mr Pirone, according to prosecutors, cannot be charged with murder or any other criminal offences for the death, which occurred more than a decade ago.

Another white officer, Johannes Mehserle was convicted of manslaughter for the shooting of Grant at a BART station in Oakland, San Francisco, in 2010.

He went on to serve 11 months in prison, having been convicted by a jury in Los Angeles, where the case was moved to, amid public anger and protests in San Francisco at the time.

The review found that Mershele was solely responsible for shooting Grant in the back, as the black man stood on a BART platform, unarmed, in 2009.

Mershele argued at his hearing that he had accidentally drawn a firearm, rather than a taser, which he intended to use on Grant.

Tuesday’s ruling marks the end of a three month long review into the case, which was heard by a court in Alameda County, Oakland.

District Attorney Nancy O'Malley said Pirone’s "overly aggressive conduct contributed to the chaotic nature of what transpired on the BART platform”, but no evidence showed “Pirone intended to aid and abet Mehserle in the unlawful killing.”

The court added that Pirone, who was fired from the BART police force in 2010 for his role in the incident, pressed his knee into Grant's upper-shoulder and neck area to restrain him as he and Mehserle sought to handcuff him.

Nevertheless, the official autopsy found Grant died of the single gunshot fired by Mehserle, and that his death was not related to Pirone’s actions.

Grant’s family, who pushed for the review into Pirone, have not publicly commented on the decision. 

It follows last summer’s protests against systemic racism in the wake of high profile police incidents involving white officers and black victims, such as George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. 

Additional reporting by Reuters.