Man fatally shot by BART police officer.Fruitvale alert

sfgate ^ | Thursday, January 1, 2009 | Jill Tucker, Kelly Zito,Heather Knight

[GSP.FAN]

A young man allegedly involved in a possible scuffle aboard a BART train was shot to death by a BART police officer on the platform of the Fruitvale Station early today.

[GSP.FAN]

allegedly, possible. Excuse my ignorance do Bart police carry a gun.

[nickcarraway]

Ping

[csvset]

Yes, BART cops are armed.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Yes, they are regular armed officers - with K-9 units and all the accoutrements. How often they actually ride trains is an open question. ;)

[GSP.FAN]

I always thought of Bart officers as cheap security with a uniform.

[csvset]

While witness accounts reported by news organizations indicate Grant was on the ground and handcuffed when he was shot, Allison would not confirm the victim had been detained.

Yikes. It's been 30 yrs since I've lived in the Bay Area. Even back then they had cameras that monitored the station platforms. It'll be interesting if this was caught on tape.

[GSP.FAN]

Drive by media.
Sfgate will never report on the story again.

[FreePaul]

I never could figure out why they called the Frisco Area Rapid Transit BART.

[xjcsa]

Fruitvale? Really? I still just call it San Francisco.

[xjcsa]

I never could figure out why they called the Frisco Area Rapid Transit BART.

Bay Area Rapid Transit.

[justlurking]

There's a station on the Bay Area Rapid Transit system called "Fruitdale"?

That's just a joke waiting to happen....

[Alia]

Deceased was 22 years old. This is a horrid event.

[InABunkerUnderSF]

Guns and dogs. The dogs appear to be the better trained. My guess is that this is another one of those “accidental discharges” - and yes, they carry a certain Austrian designed handgun.

In the wake of 911 some of them were briefly issued M4s or CAR15s. Let’s just say that it soon became apparent that muzzle control was not a big part of their training. Nothing like some guy waving his carbine round on a crowded train.

What annoys me is that BART cops also have cars and you often see them driving around, from one station to another I suppose. Not sure why they can’t just take the train like the rest of us.

[InABunkerUnderSF]

Not what you'd think. It's in Oakland and not a very appealing 'hood. If you're going to a Raiders or A's game it's the last station before the Colosseum.

The BART System.

[toomuchcoffee]

“This is a horrid event.”

Not necessarily. Some people just need killing.

[Global2010]

That would be Portland Tri Max.

If a scuffle or mugging happens the unarmed security officers is NOT I repear NOT allowed to intervene.

All he can do is call 911.

Now how stupid is that to pay a suckurity officer whose sole job is to stand by and call 911.

The riders can do that for no cost to the city.

[Global2010]

Bay Area Rapid Transit

[Global2010]

Back then it was safe to ride BART.

Use to go all over as a teen exploring.

[Jeff Chandler]

There's a station on the Bay Area Rapid Transit system called "Fruitdale"?

Bay Area Rapid Transit = Bart

Phoenix Area Rapid Transit = ?

[blueplum]

the CBS 5 video at the link reports at 1:07 that Grant was either sitting or lying down on the pavement. BART claims that not all cameras are taped.

imo if five police officers couldn’t handle this, then they needed to threaten use of dogs or teargas as a secondary measure before any guns were pulled. jmo moo