Amnesty International USA Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009

Amnesty International Calls Oscar Grant Shooting a "Clear Cut Abuse of Power"

Contact: Wende Gozan at 212-633-4247 or Dalia Hashad at 202-675-8571

(Washington)--Oscar Grant, a 22-year old unarmed black man, was shot in the back by a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police officer on New Year’s Day. On the day of his funeral, Dalia Hashad, director of Amnesty International USA’s identity-based discrimination program, released the following statement:

“When an unarmed man is shot in the back after police put him face down on the ground, it is the time for authorities to demand action, not patience. Days after the incident, the officer still has not been interviewed. The delay in this critical part of the investigation hints at the callousness to the worth of human life to a public that is all too familiar with racial profiling, police brutality and cover-ups. Whatever the final investigation reveals, the bottom line is that there is never justification to shoot an unarmed person, especially one who is restrained. It is an obvious violation of the most basic human rights standards, and a clear cut abuse of power.”

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 2.2 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.

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For more information, please visit: www.amnestyusa.org.

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