Posted on 07/08/2010 4:26:35 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A white former transit officer was convicted of involuntary manslaughter Thursday in the shooting death of an unarmed black man on an Oakland train platform in a 2009 encounter that set off days of rioting in the city.
The jury deliberated more than six hours over two days to convict Johannes Mehserle in the killing of 22-year-old Oscar Grant, who was shot to death as he lay face-down.
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http://www.kgoradio.com/listenlive.asp
KGO is live on the latest in Oakland. Cops are holding a group of protesters to around Broadway at 12th, but nothing else to report really so far. Right now things are peaceful at the civic center area.
Nutshell that I’ve gathered: Broadway and Franklin in the downtown area are closed, the slain man’s family is unhappy and wanted 2nd degree murder, watchers were surprised that the jury came back so quickly, legal folk are calling it a ‘compromise verdict,’ and cops are cautiously optimistic at present (but if anything happens the thought goes that it’ll be after sundown).
Police are starting to clear off the Oakland streets and we have some fighting going on. Some demonstrators arrested.
Humility is a two way street, and the cop who grossly overstates the "dangers" of his job or claims greater firearms skill and expertise than he actually has is just as guilty of making a bad argument as the guy who has no clue what cops do when he criticizes them.
There was no provocation or “heat of passion” here so no Voluntary Manslaughter.
Surely a skilled and willing prosecutor could have made the case that the cop was on a "ruhspect mah authoritah" power trip during the arrest, indicating an act in the heat of passion. IIRC one of the witnesses observed him spewing profanity as he tackled the guy, which would seem to suggest a frenzied state. Also I think the case for 1st degree was premised upon getting him for 2nd then bumping it up on some gun charge.
Regardless, people can be and have been convicted of voluntary manslaughter for doing less than this cop did. Take the Ryan Frederick case last year in Virginia, where a strong argument could be made that he fired in self defense. The difference, of course, is that the "victim" was a cop whereas in this case the cop was the perp. Like it or not, the boys in blue enjoy a different standard than the rest of us in the criminal justice system.
There was no provocation or “heat of passion” here so no Voluntary Manslaughter.
Surely a skilled and willing prosecutor could have made the case that the cop was on a "ruhspect mah authoritah" power trip during the arrest, indicating an act in the heat of passion. IIRC one of the witnesses observed him spewing profanity as he tackled the guy, which would seem to suggest a frenzied state. Also I think the case for 1st degree was premised upon getting him for 2nd then bumping it up on some gun charge.
Regardless, people can be and have been convicted of voluntary manslaughter for doing less than this cop did. Take the Ryan Frederick case last year in Virginia, where a strong argument could be made that he fired in self defense. The difference, of course, is that the "victim" was a cop whereas in this case the cop was the perp. Like it or not, the boys in blue enjoy a different standard than the rest of us in the criminal justice system.
I heard the local MSM is doing everything it can to incite a riot.
If it bleeds it leads.
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Because they are designed to fit you hand...just like a handgun.
The first time I deployed a Taser, when I had to reload a cartridge under stress, I reached for my pistol magazine pouch out of habit.
You train a million times to reload you gun...you taser, maybe 5 times during training, and never under stress.
That was a big wakeup call for me.
I moved my taser drop leg holster to the leg opposite my gun side.
Their was a case of an officer shooting a kid out of a tree when she was trying to taser the kid out of the tree. (Don’t ask me why you would want to taser someone in a tree, just so they could fall out).
I no longer carry a taser because of the opposite reason. I started whipping out a taser in anticipation of it being needed when going to certain calls with repeat clients. Then I realized that I was going into a call where a gun might be more appropriate, but with a taser in my hand. That’s akin to bringing a knife to gun fight.
Now everything is “handcrafted”
The two differ in that white male cop was on video shooting a black man. Perception matters to society even though both persons are dead because someone F-ed up with a gun in their hands.
The fact that the victim’s “people” are rioting tells me all I need to know. The fact that his “people” refuse to help cops when they ask for information tells me they reap what they sow. They’re a bunch of hypoctites and payback is a bitch. Holder, their boy at Justice, let the Black Panthers go. Ya’ win some, ya’ lose some. They won that onem they lost this one. They need to just suck it up and get used to that fact.
Or......they can riot and make their hoods even worse ghettoes than they already are.
Same race? So no racial angle?
It’s clear from my profile. I’m in California. Granted i’m not in Oakland, but the trial was down here and I really haven’t heard much talk around the water cooler or anywhere. Most people who have heard about it and seen the video black, white or purple (Mexican) feel like the cop should go to prison for quite awhile. Period.
It would be a mockery in that case too. People always think race race race but I always think of it how it really is. Cops can blow citizens away with virtual impunity. It could be you or me. The cop would tell a story and still get off.
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