Incidentally, this proves that many cops are unsafe to have around guns.
NO cheers, unfortunately.
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.
Not the best defense move.
This is sad.
Hang him.
You don’t get to kill people, even by accident, without paying a price.
And you can’t cure stupid.
There are a lot of murderers who didn’t do it on purpose. Your victim is still just as dead. You don’t have the luxury of making those kinds of mistakes without some kind of punishment. It’s not like you were driving a car and veered out of your lane....you pulled a gun and killed someone. If you’re that incompetent, you shouldn’t be walking the streets with a badge and gun.
Cops are the only people on the planet who can get away with for an ordinary citizen would be Manslaughter.
Incidentally, this proves that many cops are unsafe to have around guns.
NO cheers, unfortunately.
“He was so hot to shock someone he didn’t even know he had a gun instead a Taser? About 200 years at Q should give him a chance to ponder the difference between the two.”
And why did he think he needed to Tase the guy, he was already on the ground handcuffed. From the video I saw he wasn’t even struggling. He may have been mouthing off but that’s no reason to Tase the dude let a lone shoot him. However, there are no blacks on the jury so my bet is he walks and when he does Oakland goes up in flames, followed soon thereafter by the rest of the Bay area.
This is my Taser
This is my Glock
This one’s for zapping
This one goes POP!
“You don’t get to kill people, even by accident, without paying a price.”
And what should that price be? You’re suggesting hanging? For what you suggest is an accident?
Let me say it another way - do you know the difference between an accident, versus negligence, versus intent, and their significance in the law? You might want to find out.
“You don’t get to kill people, even by accident, without paying a price.”
And what should that price be? You’re suggesting hanging? For what you suggest is an accident?
Let me say it another way - do you know the difference between an accident, versus negligence, versus intent, and their significance in the law? You might want to find out.
No great loss.
“If you’re that incompetent, you shouldn’t be walking the streets with a badge and gun.”
Yes, incompetent. Yes, there’s no chance he’ll wear a badge again. But not “murderer”, as you suggest.
I would settle for negligent homicide. I find it curious that he said the gun wasn't load, just sort of popped. I call BS. Even a 9MM will make a hell of a lot of noise. They don't just go pop. Was he in a trance or what. Either way he should do time for negligent homicide. That is the least of what would happen to Joe citizen.
Let’s see.
On the ground, defenseless, shot in the back and killed. Not an accident, Taser BS aside.
“Hanging” was figurative. I think a firing squad the more reasonable choice. Instead of seeing it coming, though, perhaps he could turn his back.
“No great loss.”
Hey. The Bay Area is my home. I live here. As do a lot of other patriotic citizens.
Don’t tar the whole area by the deeds of the few that grab media attention.
"Torres, 24, was shot as he sat handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser after his arrest on charges of resisting and delaying police as they tried to quell a loud party at Madera Villa Apartments on North Schnoor Avenue. Noriega told investigators she intended to shoot Torres with her nonlethal Taser because he was kicking at the car's window, but that she accidentally used her service weapon."
Officer won't face charges : Shooting of Madera man in police car is called an accident.
“I think a firing squad the more reasonable choice.”
Sentence before the trial’s finished? Is that how it works?
What has been completely lost in the coverage of this is what led up to Grant’s arrest and killing. Oscar Grant was no choirboy. He had an extensive rap sheet already, was terrorizing BART passengers and provoking fights. He managed to ditch his handgun before the BART cops arrived, fought with them during his arrest, and needed to be subdued.
No, he didn’t deserve to be killed. But his own actions definitely contributed to his death, which has been pointedly overlooked in every MSM article I’ve read on the shooting.
Yes, Mehserle was was an idiot for pulling his sidearm instead of his TASER. But given the raw adrenalin flowing and the combative stance of Grant, it’s easy to see how this tragedy could unfold.
There are no winners here. Grant’s dead, and Mehserle’s life is destroyed. But I’m sure there are some lawyers in wings who will get quite rich in the name of “justice.”
“Yes, Mehserle was was an idiot for pulling his sidearm instead of his TASER. But given the raw adrenalin flowing and the combative stance of Grant, it’s easy to see how this tragedy could unfold.”
And if he gets off, it’s a perfect reason to say cops should either carry Tasers or sidearms, but not both. If mixing up your Taser and your sidearm is “easy to see,” then obviously there’s a problem with our peace officers carrying both.
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