OFFICER IN BART SHOOTING HAS BEEN ARRESTED
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Officer Arrested In Connection With BART Shooting
Tuesday, January 13, 2009 – updated: 12:52 am PST January 14, 2009
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Authorities in Nevada Tuesday arrested the former BART police officer who shot and killed Oscar Grant at the Fruitvale Station in Oakland Jan. 1 after learning an arrest warrant was pending against him, according to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.
Oakland police provided the sheriff's office information Tuesday morning that Johannes Mehserle, 27, was in the Zephyr Cove area of Lake Tahoe, Nev., the sheriff's office reported.
Oakland police and Douglas County sheriff's officials determined Mehserle was in the 1000 block of Skyland Drive in Zephyr Cove.
After receiving confirmation that an arrest warrant had been issued, authorities contacted Mehserle's attorney, who in turn called Mehserle.
Mehserle left the home at 1007 Skyland Drive and surrendered to sheriff's officials without incident at about 6:20 p.m., the sheriff's office reported.
He was booked into the Douglas County Sheriff's Office main jail in Minden on a fugitive warrant for homicide from Alameda County Superior Court, according to the sheriff's office.
Mehserle is being held without bail pending his extradition hearing, according to the sheriff's office.
He is being kept in a segregated area of the facility and is on a precautionary health and welfare watch, according to the sheriff's office.
The incident at the Fruitvale station in Oakland occurred shortly after 2 a.m. on Jan. 1 when Mehserle and other officers stopped a train at the station in Oakland after receiving reports that two groups of men were fighting on the train.
The shooting, which is under investigation by multiple agencies, has prompted protests in the Bay Area, including a violent demonstration last week in Oakland.
Shortly after the news broke, KTVU talked with the mother of Oscar Grant regarding this latest development. Wanda Johnson told KTVU she had not heard of the arrest. She also said while she is hoping for justice in the case, it will not bring her son back.
The news comes on the eve of a large demonstration planned for Wednesday to protest the New Year's Day shooting of Grant.
Police officials met Tuesday with protest organizers to discuss security plans for the 4 p.m. event on the steps of City Hall. Protesters also intend to march to the Alameda County District Attorney's office to call for criminal charges against former BART officer Johannes Mehserle.
Witnesses say Mehserle shot Grant in the back while he was lying facedown on a train platform.
Several protests already have taken place, including one last week that turned violent. More than 100 people were arrested, and as many as 45 businesses were damaged.
Police say they expect about 1,000 people to turn out for Wednesday's protest.
Speculation over what the Alameda County District Attorney would do in the case has been rampant ever since BART concluded its investigation and turned evidence over to the DA's office on Monday.
Former prosecutors, law school professors and other legal analysts said the case boils down to Mehserle's reason for pulling the trigger and his state of mind. And they said that task is complicated by Mehserle's resignation from the Bay Area Rapid Transit police department and his refusal to speak with investigators.
Politically powerful black ministers have trekked to Orloff's office to urge him to prosecute the case, which also is being investigated by the Oakland Police Department.
State Attorney General Jerry Brown has assigned a prosecutor to monitor the case, and the U.S. Department of Justice has dispatched mediators to help avert violent protests such as one in Oakland last week.
Orloff, a Republican who has run unopposed for district attorney four times on a tough-on-crime platform, did not return telephone calls. And Mehserle's lawyer, Christopher Miller, also could not be reached.
"You couldn't write a script with more subplots," said Darryl Stallworth, who worked as a prosecutor for Orloff for 13 years.
Few legal analysts believe Mehserle will face first-degree murder charges because prosecutors would have to convince a jury that the former officer intended to kill Grant.
A less serious manslaughter charge -- either voluntary or involuntary -- is more likely, the analysts speculated.
Voluntary manslaughter carries up to nine years in prison and prosecutors need to convince a jury that the former transit officer's actions were "grossly dangerous or grossly negligent," said Golden Gate University law professor Peter Keane.
Involuntary manslaughter is a much less serious charge and could result in a sentence of probation. To convict Mehserle of that charge, legal experts said, a jury would have to conclude that he acted improperly but accidentally.
A second-degree murder charge carries a potential life sentence, but proving that Mehserle's actions were so outside the norm to warrant such a serious accusation will be difficult, experts said.
"It's hard to argue with those who believe this is a crime," said Jim Hammer, a former San Francisco prosecutor who helped win a second-degree murder conviction for Marjorie Knoller after her vicious dogs fatally mauled a neighbor in 2001. "But were the actions so outrageous that he didn't care about life?"
Michael Rains, a former police officer who defends them now as a lawyer, said he expects Orloff to charge Mehserle because of the case's high profile. Rains said that prosecutors often "overcharge" a case to position themselves for a plea bargaining.
The attorney said he expects Mehserle to raise a self-defense argument because he was responding to reports of a brawl and people had not been searched before he arrived at the train station.
Orloff has handled many high-profile Northern California cases, including racially charged accusations that a group of Oakland police officers conspired to plant evidence on hundreds of suspects. Yet, the analysts say, this may be Orloff's thorniest case yet.
"He has a potential Rodney King-debacle developing, and that puts him in a very difficult position," Keane said. "But he can't use this cop as a sacrificial lamb to throw to the mob to lower the political heat."
Copyright 2009 by KTVU.com and Bay City News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Officer Arrested In Connection With BART Shooting
Tuesday, January 13, 2009 – updated: 12:52 am PST January 14, 2009
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Authorities in Nevada Tuesday arrested the former BART police officer who shot and killed Oscar Grant at the Fruitvale Station in Oakland Jan. 1 after learning an arrest warrant was pending against him, according to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.
Oakland police provided the sheriff's office information Tuesday morning that Johannes Mehserle, 27, was in the Zephyr Cove area of Lake Tahoe, Nev., the sheriff's office reported.
Oakland police and Douglas County sheriff's officials determined Mehserle was in the 1000 block of Skyland Drive in Zephyr Cove.
After receiving confirmation that an arrest warrant had been issued, authorities contacted Mehserle's attorney, who in turn called Mehserle.
Mehserle left the home at 1007 Skyland Drive and surrendered to sheriff's officials without incident at about 6:20 p.m., the sheriff's office reported.
He was booked into the Douglas County Sheriff's Office main jail in Minden on a fugitive warrant for homicide from Alameda County Superior Court, according to the sheriff's office.
Mehserle is being held without bail pending his extradition hearing, according to the sheriff's office.
He is being kept in a segregated area of the facility and is on a precautionary health and welfare watch, according to the sheriff's office.
The incident at the Fruitvale station in Oakland occurred shortly after 2 a.m. on Jan. 1 when Mehserle and other officers stopped a train at the station in Oakland after receiving reports that two groups of men were fighting on the train.
The shooting, which is under investigation by multiple agencies, has prompted protests in the Bay Area, including a violent demonstration last week in Oakland.
Shortly after the news broke, KTVU talked with the mother of Oscar Grant regarding this latest development. Wanda Johnson told KTVU she had not heard of the arrest. She also said while she is hoping for justice in the case, it will not bring her son back.
The news comes on the eve of a large demonstration planned for Wednesday to protest the New Year's Day shooting of Grant.
Police officials met Tuesday with protest organizers to discuss security plans for the 4 p.m. event on the steps of City Hall. Protesters also intend to march to the Alameda County District Attorney's office to call for criminal charges against former BART officer Johannes Mehserle.
Witnesses say Mehserle shot Grant in the back while he was lying facedown on a train platform.
Several protests already have taken place, including one last week that turned violent. More than 100 people were arrested, and as many as 45 businesses were damaged.
Police say they expect about 1,000 people to turn out for Wednesday's protest.
Speculation over what the Alameda County District Attorney would do in the case has been rampant ever since BART concluded its investigation and turned evidence over to the DA's office on Monday.
Former prosecutors, law school professors and other legal analysts said the case boils down to Mehserle's reason for pulling the trigger and his state of mind. And they said that task is complicated by Mehserle's resignation from the Bay Area Rapid Transit police department and his refusal to speak with investigators.
Politically powerful black ministers have trekked to Orloff's office to urge him to prosecute the case, which also is being investigated by the Oakland Police Department.
State Attorney General Jerry Brown has assigned a prosecutor to monitor the case, and the U.S. Department of Justice has dispatched mediators to help avert violent protests such as one in Oakland last week.
Orloff, a Republican who has run unopposed for district attorney four times on a tough-on-crime platform, did not return telephone calls. And Mehserle's lawyer, Christopher Miller, also could not be reached.
"You couldn't write a script with more subplots," said Darryl Stallworth, who worked as a prosecutor for Orloff for 13 years.
Few legal analysts believe Mehserle will face first-degree murder charges because prosecutors would have to convince a jury that the former officer intended to kill Grant.
A less serious manslaughter charge -- either voluntary or involuntary -- is more likely, the analysts speculated.
Voluntary manslaughter carries up to nine years in prison and prosecutors need to convince a jury that the former transit officer's actions were "grossly dangerous or grossly negligent," said Golden Gate University law professor Peter Keane.
Involuntary manslaughter is a much less serious charge and could result in a sentence of probation. To convict Mehserle of that charge, legal experts said, a jury would have to conclude that he acted improperly but accidentally.
A second-degree murder charge carries a potential life sentence, but proving that Mehserle's actions were so outside the norm to warrant such a serious accusation will be difficult, experts said.
"It's hard to argue with those who believe this is a crime," said Jim Hammer, a former San Francisco prosecutor who helped win a second-degree murder conviction for Marjorie Knoller after her vicious dogs fatally mauled a neighbor in 2001. "But were the actions so outrageous that he didn't care about life?"
Michael Rains, a former police officer who defends them now as a lawyer, said he expects Orloff to charge Mehserle because of the case's high profile. Rains said that prosecutors often "overcharge" a case to position themselves for a plea bargaining.
The attorney said he expects Mehserle to raise a self-defense argument because he was responding to reports of a brawl and people had not been searched before he arrived at the train station.
Orloff has handled many high-profile Northern California cases, including racially charged accusations that a group of Oakland police officers conspired to plant evidence on hundreds of suspects. Yet, the analysts say, this may be Orloff's thorniest case yet.
"He has a potential Rodney King-debacle developing, and that puts him in a very difficult position," Keane said. "But he can't use this cop as a sacrificial lamb to throw to the mob to lower the political heat."
Copyright 2009 by KTVU.com and Bay City News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
i think people may still go dumb tonight and act a fool, cuz its not hard to figure out that this investigation concluded the DAY BEFORE a major protest, and the people who are gonna be out in the streets know that damn well also..all it is, is social angling so that the city doesn't get torn the fuck up..
i think its fucked up that innocent people's shit gets fucked up, but I'm glad that people care enough to display civil disobedience like that because its the only way that the higher up's hear the voice of the people..
and if somehow this officer gets off scott free or with a small sentence, i hope the whole city of oakland gets torched because we all remember what happened in LA, and I don't think oakland officials wanna have to deal with that..
i think its fucked up that innocent people's shit gets fucked up, but I'm glad that people care enough to display civil disobedience like that because its the only way that the higher up's hear the voice of the people..
and if somehow this officer gets off scott free or with a small sentence, i hope the whole city of oakland gets torched because we all remember what happened in LA, and I don't think oakland officials wanna have to deal with that..
1/14/09 Oscar Grant’s Murderer Arrested in Las Vegas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk0hpHkMBBo&eurl=http://www.ozonemag.com/&feature=player_embedded
ColorOfChange.org is urging that people all over the country get involved in the fight for justice for Oscar Grant. With the strong possibility that the officer who murdered Grant not getting charged for this crime, no time is better than now to be heard, but be heard effectively. Ozone has been informed that last Wednesday’s rally was turned into a riot by BAM (By Any Means Necessary), a white leftist group of anarchists based out of Michigan and that 69% of the arrests made were NOT Oakland
residents, yet CNN and all the national and local coverage painted Oakland’s young people of color as beyond help in their rage and violence.
Read and sign the petition after the jump.
Dear Attorney General Brown:
Despite damning video evidence, the officer who killed Oscar Grant walks free, and the Alameda County District Attorney has said it will take weeks before he can decide whether to prosecute.
This is outrageous and unacceptable. Multiple videos of the shooting clearly show that it was unprovoked and unnecessary. Johannes Mehserle should be treated like any other murder suspect. I urge you to take him into custody immediately and determine what charges are appropriate.
Grant’s murder marks the third time in less than 20 years that the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police have shot and killed a black man in Alameda County who posed them no threat. In both previous cases, the officer who pulled the trigger was not disciplined or charged with a crime. Alameda County’s District Attorney accepted BART’s unconvincing justifications for the use of deadly force. When asked, the DA’s office could not recall a single case in at least twenty years in which the county has prosecuted a police officer for a fatal shooting.
Oscar Grant deserves justice, but it’s clear that victims of police brutality and their families have the deck stacked against them. That’s why you need to step in, and go beyond simply placing an observer in the DA’s office. Without an aggressive, independent investigation into Grant’s death, public confidence in the police and the rule of law will be seriously undermined.
I’m urging the California Department of Justice to arrest Mehserle today. This should be your first step in an independent investigation into Grant’s murder and into the conduct of BART police and the Alameda County DA in cases of officer-involved shootings.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
CLICK HERE TO SIGN AND SEND PETITION
http://www.colorofchange.org/oscar/?id=2021-165032
Jasari X: Tribute To Oscar Grant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk0hpHkMBBo&eurl=http://www.ozonemag.com/&feature=player_embedded
ColorOfChange.org is urging that people all over the country get involved in the fight for justice for Oscar Grant. With the strong possibility that the officer who murdered Grant not getting charged for this crime, no time is better than now to be heard, but be heard effectively. Ozone has been informed that last Wednesday’s rally was turned into a riot by BAM (By Any Means Necessary), a white leftist group of anarchists based out of Michigan and that 69% of the arrests made were NOT Oakland
residents, yet CNN and all the national and local coverage painted Oakland’s young people of color as beyond help in their rage and violence.
Read and sign the petition after the jump.
Dear Attorney General Brown:
Despite damning video evidence, the officer who killed Oscar Grant walks free, and the Alameda County District Attorney has said it will take weeks before he can decide whether to prosecute.
This is outrageous and unacceptable. Multiple videos of the shooting clearly show that it was unprovoked and unnecessary. Johannes Mehserle should be treated like any other murder suspect. I urge you to take him into custody immediately and determine what charges are appropriate.
Grant’s murder marks the third time in less than 20 years that the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police have shot and killed a black man in Alameda County who posed them no threat. In both previous cases, the officer who pulled the trigger was not disciplined or charged with a crime. Alameda County’s District Attorney accepted BART’s unconvincing justifications for the use of deadly force. When asked, the DA’s office could not recall a single case in at least twenty years in which the county has prosecuted a police officer for a fatal shooting.
Oscar Grant deserves justice, but it’s clear that victims of police brutality and their families have the deck stacked against them. That’s why you need to step in, and go beyond simply placing an observer in the DA’s office. Without an aggressive, independent investigation into Grant’s death, public confidence in the police and the rule of law will be seriously undermined.
I’m urging the California Department of Justice to arrest Mehserle today. This should be your first step in an independent investigation into Grant’s murder and into the conduct of BART police and the Alameda County DA in cases of officer-involved shootings.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
CLICK HERE TO SIGN AND SEND PETITION
http://www.colorofchange.org/oscar/?id=2021-165032
Jasari X: Tribute To Oscar Grant
