Oscar Grant's family requests to have Fruitvale BART station named after him

OAKLAND,Calif. (KGO) -- The family of Oscar Grant made an emotional plea to BART's board of directors to have the Fruitvale station named after him.

The family is making that name change request on the eve of the 10th anniversary of Grant's killing by a BART Police Officer at the Fruitvale station on New Year's Day 2009.

"It would be an atonement, it would be part of BART saying yes this happened here, we vow that it won't happen again and we vow to work with the communities and ensure that all people are treated equally," said Wanda Johnson, Oscar Grant's mother.

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But BART officials say changing the station name won't be possible.

"Our policy is stations cannot be named after individuals, it has to be tied to a location. So it is location based. What we are doing, and we are working closely with the family, is BART has commissioned a mural and it's going to go up at the Fruitvale station. It's going to honor Oscar Grant," BART spokesperson Alicia Trost.

That mural is in the planning stages, but the Grant family lashed out at board member Debora Allen, they say she posted a media article on Facebook about the mural asking the public their thoughts. The family said the Facebook post invited criticism about the mural. The Facebook post has been removed.

The Grant family is also asking if a side street at the station can be named after Oscar Grant. BART officials are referring that request to the city of Oakland.

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