You cannot be f***ing serious … Oscar Grant’s Friends Settle Lawsuit With BART For $175,000 Via AP Five friends of Oscar Grant, the man who was fatally shot by a San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer, have reached a deal to settle a federal lawsuit against the agency, officials said. Jack Bryson Jr., Nigel Bryson, Michael Greer, Carlos Reyes and Fernando Anicete Jr. will split $175,000 as part of the settlement reached late last month, their attorney John Burris said Tuesday. The BART board approved the settlement May 8, BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost said Wednesday. The men filed a federal civil rights lawsuit for $1.5 million in 2009 claiming excessive force and illegal detainment. Burris said Tuesday that the men are relieved the case is over. “This closes a very traumatic and tragic chapter for these young men,” he said. “Unfortunately, they will never get over witnessing their friend’s death.” Trost said the settlement closes the case for a “considerably smaller amount compared to what would have been a long and costly trial if allowed to move forward.” The five men were detained on BART’s Fruitvale Station platform in Oakland along with Grant, who was shot and killed by then-BART police officer Johannes Mehserle. If you’ll remember… Grant’s mother, Wanda Johnson, and Grant’s young daughter, Tatiana, also received financial settlements from BART totaling $2.8 million as a result of the shooting. That brings Oscar Grant’s life value to a grand total of just under $3 million. At the risk of equating different people’s pain and suffering, isn’t it sad that these 5 young men, who actually WITNESSED their friend being gunned down, were only awarded such a paltry settlement? R.I.P. Oscar Grant Image via KTVU
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The Joys Of Being Black: Oscar Grant’s 5 Shooting Witness Friends Paid A Pitiful $35,000 Each In BART Lawsuit Settlement
