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Skeptical judge grants bail to former BART cop
San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 1/30/9 | Demian Bulwa

Posted on 01/30/2009 3:15:12 PM PST by SmithL

OAKLAND -- Former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle declared that he was going to fire his Taser stun gun, not his pistol, just before he shot an unarmed man he was trying to arrest early New Year's Day at an Oakland station, his attorney says.

Attorney Michael Rains wrote in a court document that a second BART officer, Tony Pirone, reported hearing Mehserle say just before shooting Oscar Grant, "I'm going to tase him, I'm going to tase him."

Afterward, Mehserle said he thought Grant had been reaching for a gun, Rains wrote.

Rains gave the account in a motion asking a judge to release Mehserle on bail while the former officer defends himself against murder charges. Judge Morris Jacobson agreed today to set bail at $3 million, even as he expressed deep skepticism about the account in Rains' motion.

After a one-hour hearing in Alameda County Superior Court, Jacobson said Mehserle "has a willingness to add to the story, to change the story, to make up something that's not true to avoid consequences."

It was not immediately clear whether Mehserle would be able to post bail and be released from Santa Rita Jail. Before the hearing, Rains said Mehserle could not afford a high bail but that his parents might be able to put up the money.

Mehserle, dressed in a jail-issue jumpsuit, attended the hearing but did not speak.

The legal filing by Rains does not specifically give Mehserle's explanation for the shooting at Fruitvale Station, which happened as he and other officers were trying to arrest Grant for resisting an officer. Instead, it quotes statements that several other officers and witnesses gave to authorities and refers to evidence from the scene.

Still, it marks the first time that Mehserle's attorneys have indicated what his defense could be...

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; Government; US: California
KEYWORDS: bart; donutwatch; johannesmehserle

1 posted on 01/30/2009 3:15:12 PM PST by SmithL
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To: SmithL

What time do the riots start?


2 posted on 01/30/2009 3:23:32 PM PST by Las Vegas Ron (Obama says we should listen to muzzies, not Rush)
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To: SmithL
After a one-hour hearing in Alameda County Superior Court, Jacobson said Mehserle "has a willingness to add to the story, to change the story, to make up something that's not true to avoid consequences."

The clowns only hope is a plea deal!!

3 posted on 01/30/2009 3:23:40 PM PST by org.whodat (Conservatives don't vote for Bailouts for Super-Rich Bankers! Republicans do!)
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To: SmithL
This guy would be denied bail for jaywalking.

Yet this guy

is granted bail, albeit very steep, but gets bail nonetheless for murder 2 charges??? He's already fled the jurisdiction once prior to him being charged. They had to go drag his butt back from Nevada to arrest him. Unbelievable. One set of laws for cops, one set of laws for peons.

4 posted on 01/30/2009 3:36:45 PM PST by rednesss (Fred Thompson - 2008)
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To: SmithL
Also, it's not really $3 million, he only has to come up with 10% or $300,000. From MSNBC:

He must pay 10 percent of the $3 million, or $300,000, in order to be released from jail. He has not posted bail as of Friday afternoon.

5 posted on 01/30/2009 3:40:10 PM PST by rednesss (Fred Thompson - 2008)
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To: SmithL

Maybe they should fly him to NYC so that he can stay with the other privileged criminal Bernie Madoff in posh circumstances. Steal $50 billion, out on bail and house arrest in your $7 million apartment. Shoot a citizen in the back and murder him, jails not for you, come up with $300,000 and you’re a free man until trial. Spit.


6 posted on 01/30/2009 3:44:13 PM PST by rednesss (Fred Thompson - 2008)
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To: SmithL

I thought he had a gun.. yeah that’s it, he had a gun.


7 posted on 01/30/2009 3:56:36 PM PST by cydcharisse
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To: SmithL

I am sure the Boys in the state prison will teach him the difference between a gun and a taser.


8 posted on 01/30/2009 3:58:28 PM PST by trumandogz (The Democrats are driving us to Socialism at I00 MPH -The GOP is driving us to Socialism at 97.5 MPH)
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To: rednesss

He did not flee the jurisdiction. He went to a vacation home of a family member 3 hours away near S. Lake Tahoe (on the CA/NV border). His attorney was in contact with the DA and Alamdea Co. Sheriff, and they knew where he was at all times. When the arrest warrant was issued, he voluntarily surrendered himself to authorities and was driven back to Alameda Co. (about a 3 hour drive).


9 posted on 01/30/2009 4:05:18 PM PST by OCMike
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To: SmithL

Where was the victim shot? If in the body, then that would support a contention that the cop intended to fire a Taser— one unpardonable hell of an oops, if you ask me. If in the head, then there’s no weaseling around it.


10 posted on 01/30/2009 4:49:14 PM PST by RightOnTheLeftCoast ([In the primaries, vote "FOR". In the general, vote "AGAINST". ...See? Easy.])
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To: SmithL
This type of thing undermines trust in law enforcement, nationwide. Would this judge grant bail to a “civilian” who shot a burglar in the back? I doubt it.
11 posted on 01/30/2009 5:14:31 PM PST by Aglooka (Posting from New Hampshachusetts (Formerly New Hampshire))
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To: rednesss

The tattooed guy has black teardrops. It is a prison tat that means you killed someone. And second, the other guy is no longer a BART officer...


12 posted on 01/30/2009 6:40:08 PM PST by John123 (The US may be going down the drain, but everyone else will drown first...)
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To: SmithL

Why would this guy taze someone who was already handcuffed and down? That is what is very puzzling. Mistaking a handgun for a taser is pretty stupid, if not impossible, to start with but to reach for a weapon, of any kind, when they guy was already subdued is over the top. This guy was an accident waiting to happen. I am not convinced he didn’t shoot the guy on purpose thinking he could get away with it.


13 posted on 01/30/2009 6:43:18 PM PST by calex59
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To: AdmSmith; Berosus; Convert from ECUSA; dervish; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Fred Nerks; justiceseeker93; ..
a second BART officer, Tony Pirone, reported hearing Mehserle say just before shooting Oscar Grant, "I'm going to tase him, I'm going to tase him." ...Judge Morris Jacobson agreed today to set bail at $3 million, even as he expressed deep skepticism about the account in Rains' motion.

14 posted on 01/30/2009 7:35:47 PM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/____________________ Profile updated Monday, January 12, 2009)
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To: Las Vegas Ron

“The incident has outraged residents and led to protests. Another rally took place on Friday. People began showing up at the courthouse by mid-morning Friday. By early afternoon, dozens of protesters had gathered. They marched in the afternoon hours throughout downtown Oakland, shutting down the intersection at 14th and Broadway. The protesters were peaceful.
Pictures: BART Protestors Tell Their Own Story

Aerial video showed police using canisters of tear gas at one point during one demonstration. At least 80 officers wearing riot gear were on the scene.

BART officials closed one of the stations due to one of the civil disturbances. The BART station at 12th Street near the Oakland City Center was eventually reopened.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28934717/


15 posted on 01/31/2009 6:02:10 AM PST by KeyLargo
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To: rednesss

I would hope the top guy be denied bail for jaywalking. He should be jailed on looks alone.


16 posted on 01/31/2009 6:04:26 AM PST by HereInTheHeartland (I can't wait for January 20, 2013")
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