"They just shot him! They just shot him!" yelled 19-year-old Vargas, whose camera-phone had just captured the slaying of Grant by a San Francisco Transit officer. "... I got you, mothaf--kers!" she exclaimed.
Two videos showing a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer fatally shooting an unarmed, cooperating 22-year-old man have surfaced, thanks to a vigilant teen and an anonymous cameraman.
According to officials, five officers arrived at a subway station around 2 a.m. in response to reports of fighting on a train. Officers handcuffed a group of suspects, and detained the soon-to-be victim, Oscar Grant III.
In both videos, though detained, Grant had clearly not been cuffed.
Mario Pangelina Jr., aunt to Grant's four-year-old daughter, witnessed the events leading up to the shooting.
"First, an officer grabbed Oscar by the neck and pushed him against the wall," the Oakland Tribune quoted her as saying. "Oscar didn't fight him, but he didn't go down either. He was like, 'What did I do?' Then another officer came up with his Taser and held it right in his face. Oscar said, 'Please don't shoot me, please don't Taser me, I have a daughter,' over and over again, real fast, and he sat down."
Footage captured by camera-phone-wielding Karina Vargas, 19, shows officers had detained several men. Over the proceeding minutes, officers become defensive as groups of yelling youths stand on the periphery and meander past.
At one point, a male shouts, "Yo, f--k the police!
"Vargas several times makes attempts to get closer. When her camera focuses on Grant, he is sitting with his back against a wall, surrounded by others in handcuffs. He holds up his hands, apparently speaking with the officers, when they force him to the ground.
Two officers struggle to turn him over, even as he appears to be strewn across another man's legs, when suddenly one of the men retrieves his gun from its holster.
At this point in Vargas' video, she turns to her immediate left and focuses on an officer wrestling another man to the ground. Then, the shot rings out.
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The following footage was taken by the Oakland Tribune, published Jan. 4, 2008.
EXCLUSIVE: Raw Cell Phone Video Of Fatal BART Police Shooting:
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