SAN FRANCISCO, Kalifornia - January 13, 2009 - Outraged citizens seeking justice in the New Year's Day shooting death of 22-year old Oscar Grant of Hayward, California have scheduled more protests in Oakland, Kalifornia, as well as Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania., Columbus, Ohio, Little Rock, Arkansas, and Erie, Pennsylvania, according to a report in Bay Area News. The protesters are reportedly upset that earlier responses to the shooting turned violent, and plan new gatherings demonstrating their commitment to nonviolent action.

shooting gained national attention after video images captured by witnesses of an apparently helpless and unarmed Grant being shot by Bay Area Transportation Authority (BART) officer Johannes Mehserle, 27, were circulated on the Internet.

Dereca Blackmon, organizer of the Oakland protest, scheduled for Wednesday, January 14, a founder and partner at Oakland-based Aya Solutions, a consulting firm that advises government and private companies on racial issues, said her Coalition Against Police Executions would probably brief the media on plans for the protest today due to concerns over the violence that plagued the last protests in Oakland.

Coalition Against Police Executions' Facebook page has 1,434 members, and the London-based Justice for Oscar Grant Facebook page has well over 5,000 members worldwide, according to Bay Area News.

"I hope that city officials see the citizens of Oakland, and citizens all over the world, aren't going to rest until they see justice done," organizer Evan Shamar told the News. "We will definitely make it very clear to all the protesters and supporters there that we don't want any violence to take place."

Police spokesman Jeff Thomason said those engaging in violent activities during the previous protest were largely non-locals and appeared to be "professional protesters."

70 percent of the people we arrested were not from Oakland," he said. "It appeared that they were professional protesters - they already had masks on and backpacks with objects they can throw at the police. Obviously they came with another agenda than a peaceful one."

s also hoped that the over 100 arrests last week will deter further violence.

rapper Mistah F.A.B. told MTV last week, "I don't condone the burning down of minority businesses or destroying city property - that makes Oakland look bad. But Oscar Grant was not the first young man to be shot and killed by a police officer in Oakland in the last year. The Oakland police do not have a good relationship with the community - especially the young people of this community - so I understand some of that frustration."

Other peaceful protests are scheduled for Martin Luther King Day, and another for schoolmates of Grant on his birthday, February 27. Grant's death also stirred up heart-wrenching emotions for a father who lost his son. San Francisco's station KGO reports similarities between the Grant murder and the fatal shooting of a 19-year old by a BART Officer in 1992.

In the previous incident, the young black man, Jerrold Hall, was shot in the back of the head by a BART Officer outside the Hayward BART station.