Oakland’s Small Businesses Brace for Oscar Grant Verdict
By Poornima WeerasekaraNew America Media
Black-and-white posters of Oscar Grant’s smiling face are plastered on many downtown shop windows, especially on 17th Street, which suffered the most damage after riots broke out to protest the deadly police shooting that killed the 22-year-old butcher’s apprentice on New Year’s Day last year.
As the trial of former police officer Johannes Mehserle, accused of killing Oscar Grant, draws to an end, with a verdict anticipated as early as this week, city authorities advised small businesses to stock up on plywood, board their windows, and follow Twitter updates from the Oakland police in anticipation of more civil unrest.
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