BART police are again defending an officers' use of force after a YouTube video was posted of a glass-shattering altercation that bloodied an officer and a patron on the West Oakland platform Saturday evening.
BART launched an investigation Sunday into the officer's forceful removal of a 37-year-old San Leandro resident from a train. The agency, officials said, had received calls of an intoxicated man yelling racial slurs and obscenities and challenging others to fight.
The officer on duty at the West Oakland station, who BART officials declined to identify, entered the train and grabbed Michael Joseph Gibson with two hands.
The video posted online shows the officer pushing Gibson toward the platform wall, which has a concrete base and glass panels above. There is a collision and glass shatters to the ground. The officer then handcuffs Gibson as the officer's head begins to bleed from a serious cut.
The officer and Gibson were both hospitalized Saturday night and later released. Gibson is now at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.
"At this time, we don't know what broke the glass. The investigation, we are hopeful, will reveal that," said BART Police Patrol Commander Daniel Hartwig at a press conference at agency headquarters. He promised a full investigation.
BART's police force has been under intense scrutiny since an officer shot an unarmed passenger to death on New Year's Day at the Fruitvale Station. The officer, Johannes Mehserle, who later resigned, is charged with murder.
Initial reactions to this weekend's video varied.
John Burris, an attorney who is suing BART on behalf of the family of Oscar Grant, the man shot by Mehserle, called the footage "outrageous" and a "clear case of excessive force."
"He doesn't have to be that aggressive," Burris said. "He didn't even talk to the guy, didn't give him a chance to surrender, didn't give him an opportunity to move or comply."
But Jesse Sekhon, the president of the BART police officers' union, said Gibson appeared to reach out with his right arm and break the glass.
"It appears that the officer is trying to use the force necessary to effect an arrest," Sekhon said. "He appeared calm and in control, even after suffering a very serious injury. He kept his composure in a volatile situation.
"You saw the reaction from the patrons," Sekhon said, referring to the video. "They applauded the officer for doing his job."
Gibson's family said he had struggled with mental illness and substance abuse, and had been in previous run-ins with police.
"We've been trying to get help for him," said his father, Joseph Gibson of Hayward. "He's got mental problems and should have been put away a long time ago. He's been in and out of so much stuff lately."
But he added, "This cop didn't even say anything. He just grabbed him and rolled him into the window."
The officer has been placed on paid "industrial leave" - meaning he is unable to perform his duties because of injuries, officials said.
Records show Gibson was booked on suspicion of two felonies, battering a police officer and resisting arrest, as well as a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct.
Gibson is suspected of felony charges based on the injuries to the officer, Hartwig said. That could change, he said, depending on the outcome of the investigation. Ultimately, Alameda County prosecutors will have to decide what charges, if any, to file.
The officer - who Hartwig estimates stands 6-foot-1 inches and weighs 200 pounds - suffered a concussion and required "multiple stitches" to treat facial cuts. Gibson, listed on jail records as being 5-foot-9 and 155 pounds, had multiple cuts to his right hand, right forearm and right palm and a minor cut to his head, none of which required stitches, BART officials said.
The video was posted on YouTube late Saturday under the title "BART cop breaks window w/drunk guy's face." Police officials said they are trying to locate the person who shot the video.
BART officials said they wanted to address the situation quickly because the title of the YouTube video "draws a conclusion" Hartwig said.
"We are keenly aware of what YouTube brings to the public," Hartwig said.
The New Year's Day shooting of Grant was captured on videotape and viewed by millions of people on television and the Internet. It stoked racial tensions, with some people seeing it as representative of a pattern of police abuse of men of color. Mehserle is white and Grant was African-American.
BART officials said Sunday that both the officer and Gibson are white. Gibson's father said Sunday that his son is African-American but is light-skinned and often mistakenly identified as white.
I don't know what to think. But LOL.
BART launched an investigation Sunday into the officer's forceful removal of a 37-year-old San Leandro resident from a train. The agency, officials said, had received calls of an intoxicated man yelling racial slurs and obscenities and challenging others to fight.
The officer on duty at the West Oakland station, who BART officials declined to identify, entered the train and grabbed Michael Joseph Gibson with two hands.
The video posted online shows the officer pushing Gibson toward the platform wall, which has a concrete base and glass panels above. There is a collision and glass shatters to the ground. The officer then handcuffs Gibson as the officer's head begins to bleed from a serious cut.
The officer and Gibson were both hospitalized Saturday night and later released. Gibson is now at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.
"At this time, we don't know what broke the glass. The investigation, we are hopeful, will reveal that," said BART Police Patrol Commander Daniel Hartwig at a press conference at agency headquarters. He promised a full investigation.
BART's police force has been under intense scrutiny since an officer shot an unarmed passenger to death on New Year's Day at the Fruitvale Station. The officer, Johannes Mehserle, who later resigned, is charged with murder.
Initial reactions to this weekend's video varied.
John Burris, an attorney who is suing BART on behalf of the family of Oscar Grant, the man shot by Mehserle, called the footage "outrageous" and a "clear case of excessive force."
"He doesn't have to be that aggressive," Burris said. "He didn't even talk to the guy, didn't give him a chance to surrender, didn't give him an opportunity to move or comply."
But Jesse Sekhon, the president of the BART police officers' union, said Gibson appeared to reach out with his right arm and break the glass.
"It appears that the officer is trying to use the force necessary to effect an arrest," Sekhon said. "He appeared calm and in control, even after suffering a very serious injury. He kept his composure in a volatile situation.
"You saw the reaction from the patrons," Sekhon said, referring to the video. "They applauded the officer for doing his job."
Gibson's family said he had struggled with mental illness and substance abuse, and had been in previous run-ins with police.
"We've been trying to get help for him," said his father, Joseph Gibson of Hayward. "He's got mental problems and should have been put away a long time ago. He's been in and out of so much stuff lately."
But he added, "This cop didn't even say anything. He just grabbed him and rolled him into the window."
The officer has been placed on paid "industrial leave" - meaning he is unable to perform his duties because of injuries, officials said.
Records show Gibson was booked on suspicion of two felonies, battering a police officer and resisting arrest, as well as a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct.
Gibson is suspected of felony charges based on the injuries to the officer, Hartwig said. That could change, he said, depending on the outcome of the investigation. Ultimately, Alameda County prosecutors will have to decide what charges, if any, to file.
The officer - who Hartwig estimates stands 6-foot-1 inches and weighs 200 pounds - suffered a concussion and required "multiple stitches" to treat facial cuts. Gibson, listed on jail records as being 5-foot-9 and 155 pounds, had multiple cuts to his right hand, right forearm and right palm and a minor cut to his head, none of which required stitches, BART officials said.
The video was posted on YouTube late Saturday under the title "BART cop breaks window w/drunk guy's face." Police officials said they are trying to locate the person who shot the video.
BART officials said they wanted to address the situation quickly because the title of the YouTube video "draws a conclusion" Hartwig said.
"We are keenly aware of what YouTube brings to the public," Hartwig said.
The New Year's Day shooting of Grant was captured on videotape and viewed by millions of people on television and the Internet. It stoked racial tensions, with some people seeing it as representative of a pattern of police abuse of men of color. Mehserle is white and Grant was African-American.
BART officials said Sunday that both the officer and Gibson are white. Gibson's father said Sunday that his son is African-American but is light-skinned and often mistakenly identified as white.
I don't know what to think. But LOL.
