OAKLAND — In a stunning development Monday, Alameda County’s district attorney announced she will reopen the Oscar Grant case, 11 years after the Black man was shot to death by a BART police officer, setting off nationwide demonstrations and calls for racial justice.

Grant’s family was holding a press conference demanding that new charges be filed — specifically, felony murder against a police officer who punched and at one point kneed Grant in the head — when the announcement was made.

  • OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 05: Oakland District 3 City Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaney, center, shields Wanda Jackson, the mother of Oscar Grant, from the sun during a press conference at the Fruitvale BART station on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley is reopening the case after Grant's family and supporters put recent pressure to do so after his murder by BART police at the station on Jan. 1, 2009. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

  • OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 05: Kareem Williams, who is homeless, displays a cease-fire shirt after a press conference at the Fruitvale BART station on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley is reopening the case after Oscar Grant's family and supporters recently demanded them to do so after his murder by BART police at the station on Jan. 1, 2009. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

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  • OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 05: Former Black Panther Party Chairwoman and Oakland resident Elaine Brown speaks during a press conference at the Fruitvale BART station on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley is reopening the case after Oscar Grant's family and supporters recently demanded them to do so after his murder by BART police at the station on Jan. 1, 2009. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

  • OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 05: Oakland District 3 City Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaney hugs Wanda Jackson, facing the camera, mother of Oscar Grant, during a press conference at the Fruitvale BART station on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley is reopening the case after Oscar Grant's family and supporters recently demanded them to do so after his murder by BART police at the station on Jan. 1, 2009. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

  • OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 05: Abdul Sebur speaks during a press conference at the Fruitvale BART station on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley is reopening the case after Oscar Grant's family and supporters put recent pressure to do so after his murder by BART police at the station on Jan. 1, 2009. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

  • OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 05: Wanda Jackson, the mother of Oscar Grant, speaks during a press conference at the Fruitvale BART station on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley is reopening the case after Grant's family and supporters put recent pressure to do so after his murder by BART police at the station on Jan. 1, 2009. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

  • OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 05: An attendee wears a face shield as he listens during a press conference at the Fruitvale BART station on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley is reopening the case after Oscar Grant's family and supporters put recent pressure to do so after his murder by BART police at the station on Jan. 1, 2009. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

  • OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 05: Cephus "Uncle Bobby" Johnson, uncle of Oscar Grant, left, and his sister Wanda Jackson, the mother of Oscar Grant, right, speak to the media after a press conference at the Fruitvale BART station on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley is reopening the case after Oscar Grant's family and supporters recently demanded them to do so after his murder by BART police at the station on Jan. 1, 2009. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

  • OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 05: Wanda Jackson, mother of Oscar Grant, speaks during a press conference at the Fruitvale BART station on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley is reopening the case after Oscar Grant's family and supporters recently demanded them to do so after his murder by BART police at the station on Jan. 1, 2009. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

  • OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 05: Bystanders listen during a press conference at the Fruitvale BART station on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley is reopening the case after Grant's family and supporters put recent pressure to do so after his murder by BART police at the station on Jan. 1, 2009. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

  • OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 05: Oakland District 3 City Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaney, right, and Wanda Jackson, the mother of Oscar Grant, listen during a press conference at the Fruitvale BART station on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy OÕMalley is reopening the case after Grant's family and supporters put recent pressure to do so after his murder by BART police at the station on Jan. 1, 2009. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

  • OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 05: Cephus "Uncle Bobby" Johnson, uncle of Oscar Grant, wears a shirt with Oscar's photo as he talks with reporters after a press conference at the Fruitvale BART station on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley is reopening the case after Grant's family and supporters put recent pressure to do so after his murder by BART police at the station on Jan. 1, 2009. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

  • OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 05: Oakland District 3 City Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaney, center, Wanda Jackson, the mother of Oscar Grant, and others listen during a press conference at the Fruitvale BART station on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley is reopening the case after Grant's family and supporters put recent pressure to do so after his murder by BART police at the station on Jan. 1, 2009. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

  • OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 05: Men work a security detail during a press conference at the Fruitvale BART station on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley is reopening the case after Oscar Grant's family and supporters put recent pressure to do so after his murder by BART police at the station on Jan. 1, 2009. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

  • OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 05: Cephus "Uncle Bobby" Johnson, uncle of Oscar Grant, speaks as his sister Wanda Jackson, the mother of Oscar Grant, right, and others listen during a press conference at the Fruitvale BART station on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley is reopening the case after Oscar Grant's family and supporters recently demanded them to do so after his murder by BART police at the station on Jan. 1, 2009. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

  • OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 05: Beatrice X Johnson, aunt of Oscar Grant, speaks during a press conference at the Fruitvale BART station on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley is reopening the case after Oscar Grant's family and supporters recently demanded them to do so after his murder by BART police at the station on Jan. 1, 2009. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

  • OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 05: Members of the media listen and film during a press conference at the Fruitvale BART station on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley is reopening the case after Oscar Grant's family and supporters recently demanded them to do so after his murder by BART police at the station on Jan. 1, 2009. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

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“We have listened closely to the requests of the family of Oscar Grant,” District Attorney Nancy O’Malley said in a written statement. “The murder of Oscar Grant greatly impacted the county and the state.”

O’Malley said she has assigned a team of lawyers “to look back into the circumstances that caused the death of Oscar Grant. We will evaluate the evidence and the law, including the applicable law at the time, and make a determination.”

O’Malley didn’t elaborate and wasn’t available to comment further about her decision.

During the press conference at the BART station where Grant was killed, Grant’s family pointed out the similarities in circumstances leading to the death of George Floyd, who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer who pressed his knee on his neck for almost nine minutes.

“We’re not holding our breath,” Grant’s uncle, Cephus X Johnson, said about O’Malley’s announcement. “But we definitely will be praying that she sees the truth in this issue.”

On New Year’s Day 2009, Grant, 22, of Hayward, was fatally shot in the back by then-BART Officer Johannes Mehserle as he lay on his stomach on the platform. Mehserle, who along with other officers had been sent there after a fight on a train was reported, claimed he had mistakenly grabbed his gun instead of his Taser when he shot Grant.

Mehserle was charged with murder but convicted by a Los Angeles County jury of a lesser charge, involuntary manslaughter. He served 11 months in prison and was released in June 2011.

Grant’s family is demanding felony murder charges be filed against another officer, Anthony Pirone, who was the first to arrive on the platform that night, followed by his partner Officer Marysol Domenici.

Grant’s family claims Pirone created “the climate of violence” by pinning Grant down with a knee to his neck — similar to what happened to Floyd.

Grant’s mother, Wanda Johnson, said she is hopeful for justice.

“Absolutely we are hopeful that Nancy O’Malley and her team will do the right thing, and the right thing is to convict Pirone for his actions in causing my son to lose his life and be killed,” Johnson said.

Cephus X Johnson said the family was told by the DA’s office at the time that it would first charge Mehserle, then go after Pirone. He said prosecutors later said the office “ran out of money” to prosecute.

Tom Orloff, who was district attorney at the time, is retired. Teresa Drenick, a spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office, said she cannot comment about why Pirone was not charged at the time because the case has now been reopened.

In a deposition, Pirone told civil rights attorney John Burris, who represented Grant’s family in a civil case, that he had used force because Grant took a swing at him after refusing orders to stay seated and was swearing at him. But according to videos at the time, it was Pirone’s use of force — pushing and striking Grant — that contributed to the chaos at the station that night.

“Justice delayed is justice denied,” Wanda Johnson said on Monday.

OAKLAND, CA – OCTOBER 05: Wanda Jackson, the mother of Oscar Grant, speaks during a press conference at the Fruitvale BART station on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley is reopening the case after Grant’s family and supporters put recent pressure to do so after his murder by BART police at the station on Jan. 1, 2009. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) 

“We should not have to wait another 11 years. … We were told then that it should happen, and it should happen now,” she said.

According to a 2009 BART police internal investigation report, released last year after a public records request, Pirone contributed significantly to Grant’s shooting. Although he never faced criminal charges at the time, he was fired for his role in the shooting and statements he made, which contradicted video surveillance and other officers and witnesses’ accounts of that night.

Although Pirone never got his job back, Domenici eventually returned to duty.

When Pirone and Domenici first responded to the BART station, Pirone entered the train car without his partner, disregarded his training and rushed through the initial investigation, the report found. Witnesses described Pirone as a “drill sergeant” and “crazy,” “agitated” and “harsh.”

“The actions of Officer Pirone started a cascade of events that ultimately led to the shooting of Grant,” the report said.

Pirone used profanity when speaking to Grant and his friends, at one point calling Grant a racial expletive, according to the report. Pirone is said to have punched Grant in the face, then kneed him in the head, applying pressure to Grant’s back to prevent his hands from becoming free. When Pirone released his weight, Grant put his hands behind his back as instructed so he could be handcuffed.

Then Mehserle shot him.

“Pirone is the reason why you have that agitation,” Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaney said at Monday’s press conference.

She is asking for felony murder charges against Pirone.

Grant’s family sued BART, who agreed in a 2011 settlement to pay Grant’s daughter a total of $5.1 million.

Until this year, Mehserle had been the only officer to face charges in over a decade in Alameda County for the death of a civilian. Last month, O’Malley charged San Leandro Officer Jason Fletcher with voluntary manslaughter for the death of Steven Taylor, who was fatally shot at  Walmart store in April.