Behind murder charge against ex-BART officer

This ex-cop is getting his punishment regardless...murder or manslaughter. He won't have many friends left after this, that's for sure.

What happens next out in the world that goes on should be the thing to watch.

How is BART going to ensure this and similar events don't happen again?

How is the public going to behave around BART cops in future and vice-versa?

What will be the changes (if any) regarding the use of guns and tasers by BART cops.

I'm sooooo glad I don't live in that part of the world. Good luck to all that do.

The look of shock was more probably related to the amount of noise that a gun makes within a closed space than that he didn't know what he was doing.

I've seen enough of the justice system in this country to know that had this been a non-cop it would be characterized as an execution. And absolutely no amount of testimony that it was an "accident" would save a non-cop from severe punishment.

The man's behavior post-shooting speaks volumes: if he were innocent, he would trust the system to protect him, right? He would explain his side to IA, right? Instead, he ran from responsibility. The people to whom we give the power of life and death MUST be held to higher standards than the rest of us, responsibility on par with their power.

Generally I'm against the death penalty, but in this case I'll make an exception, since it actually might prove a deterrent to other cops if they know they will be held accountable for those they kill unnecessarily.

Today on CNN they interviewed a black man that claims he was beaten up by this very same officer a week before the shooting. He described the officer as "arrogant" and someone that "thinks nothing can happen to him because he wears a badge".

Originally posted by ANNED
This is not the first time this has happened with a Glock being mistaken for a tazer i have heard of about 8 cases over the years.
and it is always a Glock and not some other type handgun.
[edit on 15-1-2009 by ANNED]

It wasn't a Glock, it was a Sig:

Standard-issue pistols for BART police are Sig-Sauer .40-caliber semi-automatic pistols, Gee said, and the department uses the X26 model Taser.

A loaded Sig-Sauer weighs nearly three times as much as the X26 Taser and is taller by about 2 inches, according to specifications on a gun dealer and official Taser Web sites.

**Emphasis added by me**
Was BART cop reaching for Taser?

X26 Taser

Not sure which model Sig it was, only that it was a .40 caliber.
Sig-Sauer - Law Enforcement Models

And once again, as stated in an earlier post in this thread, the taser and the pistol are kept on separate areas of the officer's belt.

And, as others have pointed out, this all seems moot. The victim was clearly face down on the ground surrounded by officers and if there was resistance, it could not have been great enough to warrant the use of weaponry as the video shows no major movements by the victim.

Look! I have no idea if this officer is telling the truth about him thinking it was a" taser he thought he was shooting but when this is said and done and justice is served, I think it's time to review procedures and training. One thing I want done is the taser needs to be redesigned so that it never resembles a gun again or a gun doesn't resemble the taser. Another one would be that an unarmed man needs to be handled unarmed by the officers. If the officer can't handle that then our tax dollars don't need him or her on the payroll. Officers need to record the situation. Technology has made it possible to do that whether it be audio or video. It's time to stop this bully you, I'm better than you, I'm the law, You listen to me no matter what BS and get the law straight.

Edit with a P.S
I mentioned the taser being redesigned but I honestly believe that being electrocuted is wrong unless you meet " The Chair". To get electrocuted for misbehaving or being a jerk or even being resistant without violence is wrong,

[edit on 1/15/2009 by Solarskye]

Originally posted by Leto
Today on CNN they interviewed a black man that claims he was beaten up by this very same officer a week before the shooting. He described the officer as "arrogant" and someone that "thinks nothing can happen to him because he wears a badge".

Link to article: SFGate

The courts will need to straighten out all the facts in these situations, but if Mehserle did have a prior history of violence against others, it can go against any argument of accidental/taser/other reason for the shooting.

[edit on 1/15/2009 by thomasblackraven]

From his reaction I was all for a charge of manslaughter. It looked to me like he thought he had his taser in his hand. A stupid mistake by a stupid man, but not what I would call murder.


But if it is true that he had a history or violence and arrogance. , then I defend him in no way.

reply to post by kawz1


"Bay Area police have been known to do some shady things and I would like to see an example made out of Mehserle."


I have to disagree with you there.

Try him for what he did and nothing else.

Any others who have done "shady things", bring them in on their own charges.

I think he was charged with murder because it's harder to convict given the circumstances. He would be found guilty of manslaughter if charged and given time but the murder charge might not stick.

Originally posted by kawz1
If this guy gets off with a slap on the wrist, I believe that Oakland will be set ablaze, for better or worse. I do not advocate this type of "protest", in fact I am against it. But I won't be surprised or too angry if it does.

It always did amaze me that people in these inner cities would set their cities ablaze to avenge a death or beating by the cops... Why not take it out on the source of the problem as opposed to the neighbors?

It seems to me that if this guy gets "away" with it there would be several creative ways to bring the police in line with the old Protect and Defend standard they used to uphold....

I can think of several things I may be inclined to do if my loved one was killed like that. Not one of them would be burning my neighbors place of business down... Uncivilized animals is what we call these type of people.

Stupid & ignorant are they that cut off their nose to spite their face.

Originally posted by harvib
reply to post by k-string

 

He may have mistaken his firearm for his taser. It does appear that he was very surprised by the outcome. This would not be the first death because an officer was reaching for their taser and instead discharged their firearm. There have been several.

These taser need to be done away with.

First of all, if there have been several instances of a cop "mistakenly" shooting someone with his gun instead of his taser, then, I mean... how many times can a cop "mistakenly" use his gun instead of his taser? And how come it's only recently that this has been happening?

Now that we have it on video how it works when a cop "mistakenly" uses his pistol instead of taser, we know that it's just an excuse for murdering folks in front of lot of people when there are no cameras. It's called a "public execution". It's them alien's way of showing you that you can't stand up and stop any of the craziness going on in America.

Yup, you read the "A" word right (unless I "mistakenly" misspelled it)... them "ALIENS" (in all caps so you "get it"). Can't say it in front of some cops, but I can surely say it to you on a message board.

I mean, really... why else would some racist cop want to shoot an unarmed black dude unless them aliens had a part in it?? I mean, he just pulled his gun automatically without even thinking about it.

Okay, well, you folks wouldn't notice that part, but the fact of the matter is that this cop committed a crime, and that we now know that any cop that claims that he "mistakenly" used his pistol instead of his taser has committed a crime.

We have the proof on video.

p.s. The cop that popped the shot did not have an "oh my god" look on his face after shooting. If you look at both videos you can clearly see that. Anyone that claims otherwise is disinfo. (And the disinfo folks can claim bogus stuff a million more times, I still won't believe it)

Update:

latimesblogs.latimes.com...

Hundreds of people have gathered in downtown Oakland near 14th Street and Broadway, angered that a former BART officer was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter instead of a more severe second-degree murder conviction.

The jury had to choose between:

• Second Degree Murder
  
• Voluntary Manslaughter
  
• Involuntary Manslaughter
  

The Jury chose Involuntary Manslaughter, causing outrage.

The victim's Mother was quoted as saying
"My son was murdered. He was murdered. He was murdered. My son was murdered," said Grant's mother, Wanda Johnson. "The system has let us down but God will never ever let us down," she said.

Just for the record, the big thread where we discussed the shooting shortly after it took place can be found here: Cop Shoots Apparently Helpless Man In The Back (Update: Officer quits to avoid IA questions)

Original thread was from January 2009 by DimensionalDetective.

-ChriS