BART fires 2nd officer in station shooting death

SAN FRANCISCO— A second Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer involved in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man last year on an Oakland train station platform was fired Thursday.

Officer Tony Pirone's last day of employment was Thursday, interim BART police chief Dash Butler said in a statement.

Pirone and former Officer Marysol Domenici were the first BART officers to respond to a report of a fight moments before Oscar Grant was fatally shot by then-Officer Johannes Mehserle on an Oakland train station platform on New Year's Day 2009.

Pirone, 38, has been described by witnesses as being the most aggressive officer on the platform prior to the shooting. Domenici, 29, was fired March 25. She is appealing her termination.

The shooting was video-recorded by bystanders and shown across the Internet. It has sparked protests, including some that have turned violent. Demonstrators turned out at BART stations in downtown San Francisco on April 8 to demand Pirone's firing.

Mehserle, 28, who is white, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Grant, 22, who was black. Mehserle's attorney has said his client meant to use his stun gun instead of his handgun.

Pirone testified at a preliminary hearing last year that moments before the shooting he pulled out his Taser gun as he approached the men, who he said matched a description he was given of people fighting on the train. He then ordered some of Grant's friends to sit against a wall and then pulled Grant and another friend off the train.

According to Pirone, Grant asked him why he was messing with him. Pirone said he told Grant: "It would be a lot easier if you stopped playing games."

Video shown during last year's hearing shows Pirone yelling a black racial epithet at Grant. Pirone testified that he didn't recall saying that and if he did, it was in response to Grant saying the same thing.

Pirone then hit Grant. Rapoport has said Grant provoked the blow by trying to knee Pirone at least twice.

Moments later, Mehserle shot Grant, who was lying facedown.

Mehserle eventually resigned. He is scheduled to appear in court May 7 for a pretrial hearing in Los Angeles. A trial has been scheduled for mid-June, and Pirone will likely be a pivotal witness in the case.

Pirone's firing comes several months after a law firm hired to do a probe into the shooting recommended that Pirone and Domenici be terminated.

John Burris, the attorney for Grant's family, said Thursday that it was about time Pirone was fired. Pirone's initial actions contributed to Grant's killing, he said.

"He was the original instigator of this entire event," Burris said. "This sends a clear message that misconduct will not be tolerated or accepted. His overaggressive behavior led to Oscar Grant's death."

Pirone's lawyer, Bill Rapoport, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment on Thursday.

Original report here



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