A year and a half ago, we posted this video of the shooting of an unarmed, handcuffed man in the back at an Oakland BART station. The trial ended yesterday. If it was an accident and not intentional, to not know your gun from a Taser, much less be sure of what you’re holding before firing, is a level of incompetence that is beyond unacceptable.
A jury found former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle guilty Thursday of involuntary manslaughter, concluding that he did not intend to kill train rider Oscar Grant when he shot him in the back on New Year’s Day 2009 but acted so recklessly that he showed a disregard for Grant’s life.
The verdict was an all-but-unprecedented instance of a police officer being convicted for an on-duty shooting. But it deeply disappointed Grant’s relatives, who said the video-recorded shooting was a murder and that Mehserle deserved a sentence years longer than the one he is likely to receive.
[…]
In all, he could be sentenced to five to 14 years in prison.The jury took 6 1/2 hours over two days to decide that Mehserle was guilty of a crime, but not guilty of the other options it had been given – second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter.
Their verdict suggests they believed Mehserle when he testified that he had mistaken his pistol for his Taser as he sought to subdue the 22-year-old Grant at Fruitvale Station in Oakland following a fight on a BART train, a shooting that was captured on video by five other riders as well as a platform camera.
I am surprised they actually convicted him. Anyone else think that they are going to low ball the time he serves in sentencing?
If I had a cop down on the ground tied up. Then I shot him, they would be looking for the death penalty. Seems like a crock to me.
In a country that frequently actually fails to hire police officer applicants because they’re too bright, you will always get this sort of result.
Google Not-too-high-IQ.
Nor are most cops hired chiefly on their interpersonal skills. Some are good, some are mediocre, some are bad. And occasionally, some are incapable. Your chances of getting an officer who can actually THINK is lower than 1/3.
I don’t think this officer intended to kill. I think the transit police department wanted another dumb peg to fill up an employment slot.
Causing someone pain in order to get them to do what you want is the definition of torture. Why are officers carrying around instruments of torture to begin with? If it was harder to arrest people the police would have to be that much more sure that they should be arresting a person in the first place. DOWN WITH TORTURE!!!
Locally some of our PD is starting to carry Tasers in holsters. (They used to keep them in the car and only took them out as needed.) I was shocked to see that they were carrying them in holsters right next to their firearms.
This is insane. There is no amount of training that they can give these officers that under a high stress situation, or especially in an an unusual position like you might find yourself when fighting with an aresttee, will they be able to be be 100% sure they are drawing the weapon they intend to draw.
My letter to the city council, mayor and Cheif of Police is already in the mail.
Either you believe in the jury system or you don’t. The jury heard all the evidence, nobody posting here did.
But then, there did not seem to be any white people rioting after OJ, were there?
People in Oakland wanted to break stuff because their lives suck. That, plus the asshole anarchists from Berkeley running over to instigate it all.
Thumbs up for #6.
Jury, not the Govt. official (appointed or elected) have decided the verdict. Who is the protest against? – Everyone? (randomly selected jury).
Now waiting for N.Pelosi to protest the real violence in her own ‘hood vs. non existent, dreamed up violence of Tea Parties.
The majority of the people there were protesting because they see a cop get away with what appears to them to be murder. The idiots are rioting because they have an excuse. The same assholes would be breaking windows if the home team took the pennant. That does not invalidate the public anger over this travesty of justice.
#6 and 7. IF ONLY the jury were allowed to hear all the evidence! But in our system, they often don’t. Unfortunately, our system has morphed into one where following the rules is more important than getting at the truth, where both sides engage in psychological games, where critical information is purposefuly withheld from those charged with determining their fellow citizen’s fate and where theatrics and scare tactics are often used to confuse or mislead the jury.
Now, as for the cop…I don’t think he meant to kill Gates. Utter incompetence, horrible as it is in a cop is not murder. Based on what I’ve heard and seen, involuntary manslaughter is the only reasonable option. Unfortunately, “attempted tasing gone wrong ” was not an option.
You might also note that there was likely to be violence regardless of the verdict. Look at what happens in LA, even when the Lakers win!
I don’t have to review the video; I remember it too well. It appeared he pulled the wrong weapon, fired it at the young man, then pulled back with a surprised look on his face. I appears he did it accidentally. There’s a theory the pistol grips for guns and Tasers are too similar. I believe it was an accident!
cop in jail might = death sentance
@TheMAXX – What do you think would happen if cops were only allowed to use harsh words and squirt guns when dealing with CRIMINALS?
This “torture” is actually them enforcing the laws and doing their job. Excessive force is bad, of course, but your definition would have our cops armed with oven mitts and pillows.
adrenaline + incompetence = tragic accident
It is extremely dangerous to screw around when a cop wants you to stand still.
Even if you don’t deserve to die, which Mr Grant did not, you might launch a chain of events that will lead to your death, which Mr Grant did.
How would you like to be a BART cop now?
I suspect ‘anything goes’ now on the BART trains…
Better get your own gun for self protection.
Al least he wasn’t stoned to death. I really hate Iran and their Islamic religion morons.
They need to take away the tasers from police officers so they don’t get confused between their gun and their other lethal weapon. If a police officer only carried a gun, he would only pull it out when a suspect was armed. They pull tasers out at the drop of a hat.
It’s hard to have a fair trial when the cops, prosecutors and judges all work for the same organization. Have you ever been part of a jury selection? It’s all a game to them. it’s Who can we pick to help us win, not who can we pick to be impartial. Besides it would be hard to find 14 competent jurors to sit in a long ass trial for $10 a day while missing work. So no, there’s no such thing as a fair trial in these disjointed serfdoms of America.
I bet this policeman in Chicago who was just leaving his shift to go to a volleyball game would have had a few things to say about these situations.
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/07/suspect-charged-in-officers-shooting-death.html
#9 Utter incompetence is utterly unacceptable in a police officer.
His utter incompetence caused him to MURDER a man.
Seriously, how utterly incompetent do you have to be to draw and discharge the firearm from your RIGHT holster when your taser is in your LEFT holster and the to-be-murdered victim is lying face down with another officer restraining him??
Sadly, if the victim was white a more appropriate verdict would have been rendered.
At least Johannes Mehserle will be continually violated while imprisoned, though he’ll be in there for way less than the law actually states for his crime. For a cop, involuntary manslaughter is just a wrist-slapable offense (especially when you kill a black guy) and he’ll be out in 6 months.
I asked and was told police tasers are molded on the shape and weight of an average semiautomatic sidearm, think Glock .40. This is to facilitate handling the nonlethal weapon, because they already qualify at least once a year on their sidearm. They are holstered side by side. I thought this was one of the most asinine policies I’ve come across.
I wonder when the civil trial will begin?
Doesn’t “in all but unprecedented” mean the opposite of what was intended?
I’ve got about 10 remotes on my desk. Always get pissed when I use the wrong one thru lack of attentiveness. Never been stressed, but I can see that kind of mistake easily being made==so its the police dept that should be sued for insufficient training and bad methodology==ie, the civil lawsuit.
Speaking of Negligence by our Masters: heard that girl that was kidnapped as a kiddie in raised in the backyard of that pedophile got a $20 Million settlement with the State of Ca. Seems the State agreed they were negligent in failing to monitor/intercede with the pedo who was on probation.
I think that is “bad” social policy. Yes, the State is negligent almost without precedent otherwise, but getting $20MM is like playing the lotto. Kiddie Psychology is a fragile thing and rather informative that the kid was so innocent that she readily adapted to her captivity and did not seek to escape over the years as the opportunities to do so were constant.
Yes, the human “mind.” Variable.
A lot of “safety” innovations are hard to judge. Some people who would otherwise be shot will get tasered, I’m sure. A non-deadly weapon is going to get used a lot more often, so many people who would otherwise get shouted at are going to get tasered.
Football helmets never did away with concussions, for example, because they allowed players to hit each other harder. Safety equipment can provide an illusion of control that leads to more dangerous tactics.
Police training ought to stress the ability of an officer to descalate the level of force as well as when to escalate.
To the outside viewer it looks like a certain line is crossed by a suspect and any response by the officer is then justified.
A private citizen can defend themselves legally as long as their actions are proportional to the danger. Someone who is tasked with public safety ought to be held stringently accountable based on the same principles.
As a general issue this not a black and white situation, in any sense.
If this officer accidentally shot the guy it is no less objectionable than if he had done it on purpose. Training = responsibility.
Nobody is perfect, but nobody should get a free pass either.
#23–Chris==did you have waffles for breakfast, or only decide breakfast is generally a good thing if you are hungry?
Bobbo, hate to ask again… your point is?
People in Oakland just love breaking and burning stuff, if riots start, lock down the area and let them trash their own nest. Don’t risk firefighters’ lives for these animals.
I am a tv news photographer. I was there last night in Oakland. I spend most of my time behind the police, watching how exquisitely they controlled the anarchist mob. It was the most well-done bit of riot control I have seen in 32 years. The police were also extremely receptive to the legitimate news media. There are, nowadays, numerous assholes with cell phone cameras who consider themselves “media”. Fuck them.
All in all, bravo for the police work last night. I have seen many riots, and this one was extremely minor.
Of course, we know the Berkeley anarchist dipshits spearhead it all, and the black ghetto punks take the opportunity to enjoy violence and robbery.
One news crew was assaulted. A photographer, who, stupidly, parked on a “quiet” side street to set up a live shot, away from ANY police, found that the punks could find HIM.
He was hit in the head with a battery charger taken from his truck, about the size and weight of a brick. The hoodlums, about 14, ganged up on his, the woman reporter and a second cameraguy with another truck. While three or four guys punched the guys in the face, the others were sticking their hands in their pockets and taking whatever they could steal.
Fuckers.
Company policy for this station is NO PEPPER SPRAY OR TASERS OR PERSONAL “WEAPONS” allowed. The company is owned by Disney. So the crews were completely defenseless.
“A riot? Get right over there!….Defend yourselves with pepper spray? Not allowed.”
#25–Chris==really? Even on its being pointed out to you?
Ok.
Your post equivocates all over the place on each and every point. As such, it is not responsive to the the issues posed in the OT.
I “suppose” you have identified “some” of the relevant issues but you don’t CONCLUDE anything which afterall is the POINT in considering an issue.
Now, how true is that? Let me review your post once again on this point, as in good grace I assume you must have said something?:
—-Well to be fair, you “almost” make a point but it has to be filled in by the reader.
So, on one hand then on the otherhand = dithering irrelevancy or stating the obvious. Neither is good. I can’t tell if you think the officer acted correctly or not, if a crime was committed or not, what any corrective action might be, etc. IOW a complete dithering pile of irrelevancy.
Such dithering may be find as a short lead-in to show you recognize there are two sides to every issue, pro’s and con’s, but ultimately a definition position should be stated to distinguish yourself from garbage.
So, reread your post and post back if you think you actually did state anything definitive BUT try to do so on your next subject?????
#26 So civilians with cellphone cameras are a bad thing because they capture your beloved cops doing unforgivable stuff that the media turns a blind eye to? You’re a fucking idiot!
This is nothing more than an excuse for a shopping trip. The KFCs and FootLockers will get hammered from the looting. The cop was wrong but he did kill a criminal and probably did the knee grows a favor.