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http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128409603&sc=fb&cc=fp


Justice Department To Investigate BART Shooting
by RICHARD GONZALES


EnlargeEric Risberg/AP
A worker with the Downtown Oakland Association sweeps the sidewalk near graffiti painted by protesters outside a drug store in Oakland on Friday. The federal government said it will investigate now that officer Johannes Mehserle was convicted Thursday of involuntary manslaughter, touching off angry protests that damaged stores and netted dozens of arrests.
text size A A A July 9, 2010
For the past several months, many in Oakland's black community have urged federal authorities to investigate the New Year's Day 2009 shooting of Oscar Grant by former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle as a hate crime.

On Friday, a Justice Department spokesman said that the civil rights division will review the case along with the U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco and the FBI.

The lumbering, 6-foot-5-inch and 250-pound Mehserle was led out of a Los Angeles County courtroom in handcuffs Thursday after having been convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the slaying of the 22-year-old Grant on an Oakland train platform last year.

Mehserle, who had been a relative rookie with just two years' experience under his belt at the time of the shooting, is one of the first San Francisco Bay Area cops to be convicted of killing someone in the line of duty. He faces a sentence of between two and four years in state prison for the manslaughter conviction. He faces an additional three to 10 years for having used a gun in the commission of a crime.

Mehserle will be sentenced on Aug. 6, and his defense attorney, Michael Rains, indicated that he plans an appeal. Rains asked the judge to release Mehserle pending sentencing, but Judge Robert Perry said no. Suddenly, Mehserle found himself on the receiving end of the handcuffs.

The case was heard in Los Angeles, and not in Oakland, owing to the pretrial publicity and the racial dimensions of the incident. Mehserle, 28, is white and Grant was African-American.

After the verdict was announced, protesters took to the streets, damaging at least a dozen businesses. Police said they made 83 arrests throughout the night for violations that included failure to disperse, vandalism and assaulting a police officer.

'I'm Going To Tase Him!'

The controversial shooting occurred as Mehserle and another officer, Anthony Pirone, were trying to subdue Grant, whom they suspected of having been in a fight on a BART train in the wee hours of Jan. 1, 2009. The disturbance attracted the attention of dozens of witnesses, including several who had video cameras.

Video Of BART Shooting
Viewer Discretion Advised: Contains Harsh Language And Graphic Images
The footage is shaky, grainy, and sometimes difficult to make out. However, at least two recordings clearly show Mehserle and Pirone on top of Grant, who is lying face down on the platform. Suddenly, Mehserle stands, draws his weapon, and fires a single fatal shot into Grant's back. It appears that Grant's hands are behind his back immediately after the shot was fired.

In tearful testimony, Mehserle said that just before the shooting he yelled "I'm going to Tase him!" before mistakenly drawing his handgun.

Alameda County prosecutor David Stein argued that the shooting was intentional and that Mehserle had lost control of his emotions. He said that Mehserle should have known he had his gun in his hand because the officer carried it on his strong side — his right — and the Taser was carried on Mehserle's weak, or left side. The Taser is yellow and a couple of pounds lighter than Mehserle's handgun.

Stein pounced on another reason Mehserle should have known where his Taser was: The officer had been on the train platform for less than 2 1/2 minutes before the shooting. And in that brief period of time, Mehserle had already pulled out and reholstered his Taser two times as a warning to Grant and his friends.

sweetcharmedlife wrote on Jul 9^th, 2010 at 6:57pm:


and what crime did the victim commit? and he's not just shot, he's dead. he didn't even resist the police, he had almost 500 lbs of human beings on him... was his crime being young and out partying on new years...
the police have never shot innocent people before...wtf?

sweetcharmedlife wrote on Jul 9^th, 2010 at 6:57pm:


Dude,
You live in the East Bay, I know you've seen the video of the shooting. . .what threat was Oscar Grant, lying cuffed, on the ground to the 3 BART cops on top of him?!?!?!?!? What crime was he convicted of ?? If you are saying being near or involved in a brawl on NYE makes you a legitimate target for being shot by a cop then the world must be a scary place for you. . .
MM

http://isoaklandburning.com/

sweetcharmedlife wrote on Jul 10^th, 2010 at 12:42am:



what a narrow view... the police are held to the higher standard... do you know why they were called? Do you know if the had ID'd any of the men being held? Had there been any violence or was it just yelling and the risk of a fight? Grant was on his stomach, with a 250 lb man on his back and another with his leg pinning his neck, if he squirmed, it was from pain, and the force was excessive and Mehersle by his own testimony had threatened to use his taser and pulled it out twice, there was nothing warranting its use to begin with. A citizen has a right to speak while be questioned by the police, in order to provide explanation, and in this case, to possibly respond to an unwarranted threat of being tased by the police. Are we putting the victim on trial? The officers hadn't identified him, so whether he was a wanted felon or just a guy out, doesn't matter. He was being cuffed and not resisting, and they shot him, a taser wasn't even needed, which had already been threatened to be used... but there was no cause for tasing, the police were the agressors and the only ones who were violent and threatened and used violence. I'm going to kill, is what he thought, cold blooded hatred, black is just an issue because we have had many abuses over the past 200 years we need to address and correct! Could have been a man of any race, that it was a black man, in america, only sheds light on what has been a lopsisded sytem of justice for crimes against blacks by law enforcement and groups and individuals. You say put myelf in Mersehle's place, Ok... he is held to a higher standard. He choose this position of public service, and is sworn to serve and protect and with all the immense power he has, comes great responsibilty... otherwise people die. He was not just untrained and unprofessional, he was also a dick and a coward, and still is... he ran after the crime and even on trial now is doing everythnig to avoid justice. I hope he gets the max sentnce and I look forward to the new investigation of civil rights abuses. The very ones you seem to think are irreleivent, like blaming a victim for a past offense, even though, there's no law allowing a right to be revoked (like life and liberty) because you have a history? So lame... maybe you prefer street justice by cops, but not citizens.... that grainy video, also has 100 eye witnesses, who were shouting at the police to stop, because they saw the abuse and injustice. I personally have seen  men  show compassion and love and also witnessed men act with violnce and evil onto each other, and sadly, it has been the same men at times. Too bad black and white, and so black and white!

Bingo wrote on Jul 10^th, 2010 at 8:52am:


Why are they comparing OPD to BART Police... OPD and BART are seperate Police Jurisdictions, since BART covers an entire transit system covering many city's, but doesn't patrol any streets, respond to residence or business. As far as I know, they are not even 911 dispatched in any circimstances, but there may be exceptions and and in those case, there's a chain of command and I beleive the local law enforcement is in command.
The rational that b/c the victim had been arrested before and was realesed from jial, trumps that he had a job and a child and the police at the time knew none of this, but in retrospect, according to sweetcharmedlife, somehow justifies the killing...

Bingo wrote on Jul 10^th, 2010 at 10:09am:



would it be aprapo to start quoting sympathy for the devil lyrics?

sweetcharmedlife wrote on Jul 10^th, 2010 at 1:31pm:


He did threaten to tase the men being held, twice before the shooting, the only thing they did was be vocal, no violence or danger to the officers, which isn'teven a non-lethal weapon situation, let alone a call to discharge a fire arm... He had no control over his anger, and used lethal force, that is murder. A person doesn't have to have a thought or even pre-mediatation to commit a murder. You think it was an accident. I don't based on evidence, testimony and the officers prior conduct. The man shouldn't have even been allowed to carry a weapon or be in any tense situations.