OFFICER IN BART SHOOTING HAS BEEN ARRESTED
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BART Police Officer Arrested In Connection With Fatal Shooting
Tuesday, January 13, 2009 – updated: 9:52 pm PST January 13, 2009
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Several well-placed sources are telling KTVU news that a warrant was issued for former BART officer Johannes Mehserle and that Mehserle is now in custody.
Mehserle was the officer involved in the New Year's Day fatal shooting of 22-year-old Oscar Grant on the platform of the Fruitvale BART station.
KTVU sources say Mehserle was some distance from the Bay Area when he was taken into custody and won't arrive at the jail Tuesday night. Published reports indicate the BART police officer was taken into custody in Nevada.
Another source says when he does arrive, Mehserle will be booked into the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. And yet another source tells KTVU Mehserle is being held on a no-bail warrant.
So far, it has not been determined if Mehserle was taken into custody on an open warrant or a murder warrant. Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff is scheduled to hold a news conference Wednesday to reveal more information on the arrest.
The news comes on the eve of a large demonstration planned for Wednesday to protest the New Year's Day shooting of Grant.
Police officials met Tuesday with protest organizers to discuss security plans for the 4 p.m. event on the steps of City Hall. Protesters also intend to march to the Alameda County District Attorney's office to call for criminal charges against former BART officer Johannes Mehserle.
Witnesses say Mehserle shot Grant in the back while he was lying facedown on a train platform.
Former San Francisco District Attorney Terrence Hallinan said the shooting appears to be "negligent homicide" and likely will lead to criminal charges.
Few legal analysts believe Mehserle will face first-degree murder charges because prosecutors would have to convince a jury that the former officer intended to kill Grant.
A less serious manslaughter charge -- either voluntary or involuntary -- is more likely, the analysts speculated.
Voluntary manslaughter carries up to nine years in prison and prosecutors need to convince a jury that the former transit officer's actions were "grossly dangerous or grossly negligent," said Golden Gate University law professor Peter Keane.
Involuntary manslaughter is a much less serious charge and could result in a sentence of probation. To convict Mehserle of that charge, legal experts said, a jury would have to conclude that he acted improperly but accidentally.
A second-degree murder charge carries a potential life sentence, but proving that Mehserle's actions were so outside the norm to warrant such a serious accusation will be difficult, experts said.
"It's hard to argue with those who believe this is a crime," said Jim Hammer, a former San Francisco prosecutor who helped win a second-degree murder conviction for Marjorie Knoller after her vicious dogs fatally mauled a neighbor in 2001. "But were the actions so outrageous that he didn't care about life?"
Michael Rains, a former police officer who defends them now as a lawyer, said he expects Orloff to charge Mehserle because of the case's high profile. Rains said that prosecutors often "overcharge" a case to position themselves for a plea bargaining.
The attorney said he expects Mehserle to raise a self-defense argument because he was responding to reports of a brawl and people had not been searched before he arrived at the train station.
Orloff has handled many high-profile Northern California cases, including racially charged accusations that a group of Oakland police officers conspired to plant evidence on hundreds of suspects. Yet, the analysts say, this may be Orloff's thorniest case yet.
"He has a potential Rodney King-debacle developing, and that puts him in a very difficult position," Keane said. "But he can't use this cop as a sacrificial lamb to throw to the mob to lower the political heat."
Tuesday, January 13, 2009 – updated: 9:52 pm PST January 13, 2009
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Several well-placed sources are telling KTVU news that a warrant was issued for former BART officer Johannes Mehserle and that Mehserle is now in custody.
Mehserle was the officer involved in the New Year's Day fatal shooting of 22-year-old Oscar Grant on the platform of the Fruitvale BART station.
KTVU sources say Mehserle was some distance from the Bay Area when he was taken into custody and won't arrive at the jail Tuesday night. Published reports indicate the BART police officer was taken into custody in Nevada.
Another source says when he does arrive, Mehserle will be booked into the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. And yet another source tells KTVU Mehserle is being held on a no-bail warrant.
So far, it has not been determined if Mehserle was taken into custody on an open warrant or a murder warrant. Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff is scheduled to hold a news conference Wednesday to reveal more information on the arrest.
The news comes on the eve of a large demonstration planned for Wednesday to protest the New Year's Day shooting of Grant.
Police officials met Tuesday with protest organizers to discuss security plans for the 4 p.m. event on the steps of City Hall. Protesters also intend to march to the Alameda County District Attorney's office to call for criminal charges against former BART officer Johannes Mehserle.
Witnesses say Mehserle shot Grant in the back while he was lying facedown on a train platform.
Former San Francisco District Attorney Terrence Hallinan said the shooting appears to be "negligent homicide" and likely will lead to criminal charges.
Few legal analysts believe Mehserle will face first-degree murder charges because prosecutors would have to convince a jury that the former officer intended to kill Grant.
A less serious manslaughter charge -- either voluntary or involuntary -- is more likely, the analysts speculated.
Voluntary manslaughter carries up to nine years in prison and prosecutors need to convince a jury that the former transit officer's actions were "grossly dangerous or grossly negligent," said Golden Gate University law professor Peter Keane.
Involuntary manslaughter is a much less serious charge and could result in a sentence of probation. To convict Mehserle of that charge, legal experts said, a jury would have to conclude that he acted improperly but accidentally.
A second-degree murder charge carries a potential life sentence, but proving that Mehserle's actions were so outside the norm to warrant such a serious accusation will be difficult, experts said.
"It's hard to argue with those who believe this is a crime," said Jim Hammer, a former San Francisco prosecutor who helped win a second-degree murder conviction for Marjorie Knoller after her vicious dogs fatally mauled a neighbor in 2001. "But were the actions so outrageous that he didn't care about life?"
Michael Rains, a former police officer who defends them now as a lawyer, said he expects Orloff to charge Mehserle because of the case's high profile. Rains said that prosecutors often "overcharge" a case to position themselves for a plea bargaining.
The attorney said he expects Mehserle to raise a self-defense argument because he was responding to reports of a brawl and people had not been searched before he arrived at the train station.
Orloff has handled many high-profile Northern California cases, including racially charged accusations that a group of Oakland police officers conspired to plant evidence on hundreds of suspects. Yet, the analysts say, this may be Orloff's thorniest case yet.
"He has a potential Rodney King-debacle developing, and that puts him in a very difficult position," Keane said. "But he can't use this cop as a sacrificial lamb to throw to the mob to lower the political heat."
they're gonna have a News Conference tomorrow, hopefully they'll explain the charges then, but for now it's a smoke screen to try to calm shit down before it explodes tomorrow
they're expecting well over 1,000 people tomorrow and as much as the organizers say they are trying to keep it peaceful, Oakland does not know how to be peaceful when you combine angry people with protestors and outside protestors from other citys and young ignorant people it's gonna be chaos
they're expecting well over 1,000 people tomorrow and as much as the organizers say they are trying to keep it peaceful, Oakland does not know how to be peaceful when you combine angry people with protestors and outside protestors from other citys and young ignorant people it's gonna be chaos