Posted on 06/25/2010 12:05:17 PM PDT by SmithL
Former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle broke down and sobbed today as he described to a jury the moment he realized he had shot Oscar Grant in the back.
"I didn't think I had my gun," Mehserle said. "I heard the pop. It wasn't very loud. It wasn't like a gun shot. And then I remember thinking, 'What went wrong with my Taser?' I remember looking at my gun in my right hand."
Mehserle continued, "I didn't know what to think. It just shouldn't have been there."
Mehserle then broke down in tears, as did his mother, who was watching from the gallery.
Grant's mother left the courtroom and an unidentified black male screamed out, "You save those (expletive) tears dude."
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Perry immediately shut down proceedings and ordered the man arrested for contempt of court.
Mehserle's breakdown came during the second day of his testimony in the murder case against him. He said on the witness stand that he never intended to shoot Grant and thought he was reaching for his Taser, when instead he was reaching for his gun.
Mehserle said he decided to use his Taser on Grant after he struggled to grab Grant's right arm while he tried to handcuff him. Mehserle said he thought Grant might have been reaching for a gun.
The proceedings broke for a brief recess with Mehserle still on the stand. Deputy district attorney David Stein is expected to begin cross-examining him later today.
BS. This idiot will be back on the streets with a gun and a badge and the full power of the State behind him less than a month after this trial is over.
Yeah, a real garden spot.
Yep, I can either abandon my home of 56 years, or stay and fight the good fight.
I’m not alone.
Most of you commenting don’t know jack squat about this case or the evidence. The cop made a mistake, the trial evidence is very clear in that regard.
Grant was a violent mug who put himself in the situation that led to his death. He was combative and resisting. The evidence is very clear about this regardless of what you think you saw in the videos.
His violent mug buddies helped create the atmosphere on that train platform that forced the cops into hyper mode.
Yes, Mehserle will beat the Murder 1 charge and Oakland will burn. You can blame the prosecution for that.
I simply said that admitting on the stand that you thought you were pulling a taser not a firearm smacks of stupid. I would have counciled him to reiterate the struggle and confusion and fear that the perp had a gun.
Have not seen the video and don’t know the case.
You rock!
I’m stealing that one...if I can remember it.
You might consider, when your Lord Obama starts to crack down on dissidents, who is going to be out there in public, trying to enforce his edicts.
Something that is left out of most histories of the Holocaust is that the membership of the Einzatztgruppen were recruited from police departments...
“On the ground,”
Agree.
“defenseless,”
by some testimony, resisting handcuffing. And an angry mob circling the cops as they were trying to subdue to guy. I saw the videos at the time.
“shot in the back and killed. Not an accident, Taser BS aside.”
shot, yes, but not inconsistent with accident. In fact, accident had always been the ONLY way that makes sense, and everyone following the story here on FR knew that almost instantly. Intentional? You mean, in front of everyone, intentionally shooting the guy, and thereby provoking a mob that is ready to attack you for using excessive force? Made no sense, never made sense.
Would you agree this was manslaughter?
Also I wondered about your opinion on point that the average citizen would not get any break if they accidently shot a LEO when they thought they were just tazing the bro.
Yeah, who you gonna believe, the cop under oath, or your lying eyes.
It sounds like they’ll come down with manslaughter, just as they would if someone were killed in an auto accident because of the driver’s negligence, inattention.
Something that is left out of most histories of the Holocaust is that the membership of the Einzatztgruppen were recruited from police departments...
So you're of the opinion that freakin' gangster thugs are some sort of persecuted minority rather than public menaces?
Plenty of people (probably the majority) in the Bay Area are happy to see a guy like Grant get what he deserves. In fact, we'd probably support a vigilante committee just like the old days.
You must live somewhere devoid of these feral assholes to be spouting that bullshit.
Say that to my face.
Street thugs as saints and martyrs in the parallel universe we have moved into since the glorious 1960s. Sigh.
There’s always been a Libertarian contingent on FR that has the adolescent propensity to pile on any LE (or weed) story, jump up and down and say “Cops are all Nazis”. And anyone who points out that their arguments are preposterous is a “statist”.
But over the past year or so, it seems that they’re even stupider, and louder, and more frothing at the mouth than I can recall from past years. I kind of wonder what’s up with that.
Paulians infiltrating FR? Misdirected animus after a year and a half of the 0 administration? Public schools?
“Enquiring minds want to know”
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