Posted on 11/05/2010 1:27:47 PM PDT by SmithL
OS ANGELES -- A judge sentenced former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle today to two years in state prison for fatally shooting unarmed train rider Oscar Grant during a video-recorded arrest in Oakland on Jan. 1, 2009.
A jury in Los Angeles County, where the trial was moved, found Mehserle guilty of involuntary manslaughter in July, acquitting him of the more serious charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter. Mehserle testified that he killed Grant accidentally, after mistaking his service pistol and his Taser.
The verdict meant that jurors concluded that Mehserle, 28, did not intend to kill Grant, 22, when he shot him in the back at Fruitvale Station, but acted negligently and took his life unlawfully. The jury also found that Mehserle, a Napa County resident, had used a gun during the crime.
Today, Judge Robert Perry gave Mehserle two years for the involuntary manslaughter conviction, the shortest term possible, and threw out the gun enhancement, saying it was not supported by the evidence.
With credit for time he has already served behind bars, Mehserle will be eligible for release in about a year.
Mehserle's possible sentence for involuntary manslaughter was two, three or four years, plus three, four or 10 years for the gun enhancement. The defense pushed for Mehserle's release on probation, which state law allows in involuntary manslaughter cases that are considered unusual.
The two sides had disagreed on what the jury signaled with its verdict. The defense said jurors showed they believed Mehserle's "Taser confusion" story when they rejected murder and voluntary manslaughter, both of which require an intent to kill.
Prosecutors disagreed. They said jurors had found that Mehserle did not intend to kill Grant,
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Interesting article title. :-}
Yeah, I fat fingered that one.
Is there any reasonable way that a taser feels the same way in your hand as a regular gun?
I would think the two grip surfaces would feel different wouldn't they?
So will the rioting in oakland begin soon?
Is there any reasonable way that a taser feels the same way in your hand as a regular gun?
I would think the two grip surfaces would feel different wouldn’t they?””””
IF you have a chance to see the video in real time speed, it all happened really quickly.
Also- all the prior reports have been saying that Grant was shot in the back. Apparently, the autopsy shows that Grant was shot in the side or near his side, which shows what officers said all along—that Grant was resisting arrest, squirming & trying to turn over.
It was almost impossible for the jury to bring a first degree murder verdict, which would have required forethought & planning. Video shows that Mesherle was on the scene for less than 100 seconds. Hard to call that time frame as ‘pre-meditated’ actions by the Bart officer(s).
There were 3 or 4 officers trying to get him into custody. The others were already handcuffed & sitting with their backs to the wall. Grant was the only one not complying.
A group of 4-6 black troublemakers had been harrassing New Year’s Eve riders on the BART train & numerous cell phone calls had gone out to the BART security offices for help. Grant & others were identified by the train passengers who felt threatened.
Riding BART in the OAKLAND area is taking your safety into your own hands. You are trapped inside that train with some animals who wear clothes. They are violent & often on drugs, seeking trouble all the time.
Is this sentence above or below the riot threshold?
John Burris, black attorney for the Grant family, is whining right now on TV about “how blacks are not respected in this society” & “how they feel frustrated when they are young & don’t get any respect”.
Keep in mind—Grant & others were causing trouble INSIDE the BART train car & threatening riders on the train who were just trying to go home after New Year’s eve events. They were harrassing both white & BLACKS.
I have not a lick of sympathy for Oakland & it’s occupants.
They refuse to witness anything when crap happens.
They refuse to co-operate when one of their own gang members gets gunned down.
It is a constant ‘us against them’ mentality.
They refuse to get an education.
They leave school early & are unemployable.
Then they blame ‘whitey’.
They need some mirrors, IMO.
Oakland will riot tonight.
Stores have been boarding up for last 3 days. Many store owners have left their stores & gone home already.
When the verdict came down, they rioted & caused lots of damage & were looting stores owned by their own ‘brothers’.
One black jewelry store owner said he had lost over $150,000 worth of merchandise & didn’t know if he could re-open.
Hard to drum up any sympathy.
I was just asking about how similar the surfaces are between the grips are
I guess I’ll keep an eye out for news from Oakland tonight, while keeping up with the first night of high school football playoffs.
“Many store owners have left their stores...”
...except for the Koreans, who are locked and loaded. They don’t accept the Oakland credo that those who have must give up their stuff to those who have not.
Let the riots begin.
The grips are going to feel basically the same. You might be able to tell them apart in a blind test if you had some time and your wits about you, but in the middle of a fight or struggle your brain is not going to notice the difference.
This cop just had a brain fart in the middle of a stressful event. From the video I saw he clearly ment to draw his taser, testimony says he announced “taser” and from the video I saw he looked shocked that he’d fired his weapon instead of his taser. It was a mistake but not one that rises to a charge of manslaughter or negligence.
Appropriate response would have been a payout to the family and better training for the officers. Then rioting!
From: Mehserle: 'I'll Forever Be Sorry For What Happened':
Mehserle’s critics say that it’s impossible that Mehserle could mistake a heavier gun for a lightweight, bright yellow Taser, to which he replied, “Unless you've been there, for me, I didn't really understand it until it happened.”
Mehserle, now 28, acknowledges drawing and holstering his Taser twice in the two and a half minutes he was on the BART platform before the shooting.
“That wasn't a split second decision there. I had time to pull out, look and warn him with it,” said Mehserle.
BART officers had just started carrying Tasers three weeks before the shooting. On the day of the shooting, “My Taser was just to the left of my center line belt buckle and my gun was to the right on my right hip,” said Mehserle.
I haven’t been following this case too closely, and I am not a lawyer, so maybe some of my fellow FReepers can help me out with this: Is it usual for a police officer involved in an “on-the-job” accidental fatality to face a criminal charge? i.e. if an office loses control of his patrol car during a high speed chase and t-bones the suspect’s car and kills him, will criminal charges against the officer normally follow? (I realize that he will almost certainly face a civil lawsuit later). I would think that the “employer”/P.D. would bear the brunt of the “blame”. How about this one: UPS driver accidentally loses control of his delivery truck and kills someone...will criminal charges be filed against the driver? We had an example here in the Central Valley of Calif. where a technician/driver for Hussmann refrigeration slammed his company truck into a sedan with 2 ladies in it (severe injuries, no fatalities), there were no criminal charges, but $9 million was awarded for injuries/disabilities and pain & suffering in a civil trial.
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