Early on New Years Day, a BART police officer fatally shoot an unarmed black man in Oakland, CA.  Cell phone videos of the shooting captured by a number of witnesses show that the man, 22-year-old Oscar Grant, laying face down on the pavement surrounded by a number of officers at the time he was shot.  Some have claimed that there was an element of racism on the part of the officer.  Others say it’s an example of extreme police brutality, in which race played no part.

In the aftermath of the shooting, violent protests have broken out in Oakland that have many questioning the efficacy and motives of this reaction.  As the SFGate put it: “The roving mob expressed fury at police and frustration over society’s racial injustice. Yet the demonstrators were often indiscriminate, frequently targeting the businesses and prized possessions of people of color.”