Judges: Grant Family Suits Against Ex-BART Officers Can Go Forward

Several lawsuits against Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police officers over the fatal shooting of Oscar Grant in 2009 can move forward, a three-judge panel ruled Tuesday.

The panel of Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on lawsuits brought by Grant's father and five friends against six current and former officers, including former Officer Johannes Mehserle , former Officer Anthony Pirone, and former Chief Gary Gee.

The court ruled that Pirone's initial stop of Grant and his friends was "constitutionally unsound."

Mehserle served half of a two year sentence for involuntary manslaughter after a trial where he argued he mistakenly grabbed his gun instead of his TASER and shot the 22-year-old Grant at Fruitville Station early New Year's Day.

In June of 2011, BART agreed to pay Oscar Grant's mother $1.3 million to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit over his death.