Jury delivers involuntary manslaughter verdict in Oakland shooting

Jury delivers involuntary manslaughter verdict in Oakland shooting

www.cnn.com

A former police officer who is white was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter Thursday in the killing of an unarmed black man in Oakland, California.

Johannes Mehserle, who was a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer at the time of the incident, was accused of shooting 22-year-old Oscar Grant on an Oakland train platform on January 1, 2009.

Mehserle could have been found not guilty, guilty of murder or guilty of a lesser offense including manslaughter. The trial was moved from Alameda County to Los Angeles due to pre-trial publicity.

(visit the link for the full news article)

There is already violence erupting over the verdict. This could end up getting very ugly if riots break out.

I am not sure whether it was an accident or not actually. If it was an accidental shooting, then the correct verdict was reached. Even so, many people were out for him to be severely punished.

This could end up being quite interesting in developments.

I did not see this posted yet, so I hope I didn't dupe. I copy/pasted title and hope it doesn't get changed on me again.

www.cnn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I'm sorry but if you cant tell the difference between a taser and a gun then you shouldn't be allowed to carry either. maybe the u.s need a violent reaction. this type of craps been happening allot lately and not to much gets done about it probably because you see this sort of thing all the time via YouTube and others there's no shock anymore people are desensitized to it. i believe this should of been 2nd degree murder not involuntary manslaughter. you pulled a gun and shot a man whats involuntary about that.

Great post OP i was interested in this outcome,

there was a discussion previously here about the possible riots that might ensue if a not guilty verdict was reached here:


www.abovetopsecret.com...

posted last week , i have to give a thumbs up to that author for his insight.

thanks again for the update

S+F

~meathead

reply to post by danielhanson420


A star for you. I could not have said it better. If this had been the other way around and the black man had shot the cop, he would be in prison for life.

After the Rodney King verdict there was rioting not just in L.A. but Atlanta and other cities. This comes in a much different time, so it will probably be worse. Martial law, here we come...

Cop pulls out his gun and shoots/kills a guy laying face down on the ground, and it comes off as "involuntary."

Thieves could go free while victim faces jail time
Old guy shoots twice at some guys stealing a trailer from his yard, injures one, and faces four counts of "attempted first degree murder" . . . ?

I covered this a year and a half ago, and was absolutely surprised by the lack of interest.

I sincerely hope that you get more of a response than I did.

Link

Star and flag for you.

So the trigger happy cop gets off easy - that figures. Rioting should begin shortly. I wish they could just get to the cop directly - justice not given once again! Shame!

I have seen the videos, it WAS a complete accident. I think the verdict is the right one.

The officer was surprised after it happened. His body movements also indicate that he was not prepared for a gun shot, he flinched, and one of his hands moved away from the gun in fear. He didn't expect it.

If you don't think it was an accident, and you wonder how someone could make such a mistake, then you probably have never been in a life threatening or vulnerable situation which causes your adrenaline levels to rise, and cause a type of time dilation in the mind. You must not know how easy it is to make a mistake in those situations.

It's a horrible mistake... it should have never happened. But it's not totally fair to punish someone as if they did something on purpose when it was a complete accident. Mistakes happen you know.


[edit on 8-7-2010 by eennoo]

This is crazy, but unfortunately I am not surprised. The DOJ had a chance to show the public that it is striving to remain a fair and balanced justice system, but now have failed again.

Whether he thought it was his taser (which is very hard to believe for a number of reasons) or he knew it was his firearm, the end result is that an unarmed kid was shot to death by police.

What really me off is the fact that the DOJ continually makes "examples" out of so many non-violent D-Dealers, giving them 5-20 years for only $400-$1500 worth of US bought product, because they say it makes 'society' feel better. But they won't make an "example" out of a bad police officer who killed an unarmed kid, when we repeatedly have cases like this and society is screaming for them to do something!?! AHHH! #%#$$$ its so frustrating!

I have family in Oakland too, who are now rightfully fearful of racial retaliation, when they are loving kind hearted people! I'll update if I hear any details about rioting or anything.

reply to post by eennoo


This guy is totally a police shill and should be treated as such.

There is no way that this transit cop should have gotten off this easy. Had it been anyone else, we would be getting 99 years or more.

Sickening.

..Ex

Is there any distinction between a police officer and a transit officer? Isn't a meter maid also an officer?

And what is wrong with those jurors? 7 whites, 3 latinos, 1 asian, 1 other, I read. They sided with the officer to some extent by giving him the lesser charge, but thats kind of not the point. They must have judged on the fact that the kid had been in prison for firearms possesion, so obviously the officer, I use that term loosely, accidently shot the kid instead of tasing him when he already had him face down on the concrete.

Cop couldn't get his hands allegedly while he was waiting for his colleague, so of course with the taser, instead he shoots him in the back. I mean, what kind of people do they hire for these positions? Milquetoast Man? The kid was on the ground probably getting road rash all over his face. I know its not advisable to resist arrest, but where are the tough cops that can handle a situation without a taser, gun, or 6 guys vs one?

ps. I take it all back if the kid was built like Shaquille Oneal.

You insulted me because I am much wiser than you, and because you suffer from "blind rage" and are extremely prejudice. I feel sorry for you, for you are blind to the truth.

The entire event was an accident. The officer obviously did not want to kill the guy, and it can be proven in court. Anyone arguing that point most probably is lacking the mental facilities required to recognize such a situation (blind).

If you seriously think the officer planned to pull out a gun and kill Oscar Grant for no reason while he is laying face down in front of a large crowd of people holding up video cameras, I really do think your are mentally instable.

Oh, and your 99 year prison sentence for an accident similar to this for anyone else, is a complete lie that you can not back up with sources. You fail. All of your attempts will be comparisons between apples and oranges.



[edit on 9-7-2010 by eennoo]

I actually remember this one and was about to ask here if anyone knows what's going on. Again the cop gets away easier with something that a citizen would spend at least a life in prison. Exactly as I predicted.

Not to be racist or anything, but why do only black activist liberals riot in the streets over stuff like this?

Besides, I don't think it's racial, seeing as every other black person does not but these politically misaligned fools.

Funny. Conservative black people, would not do this.

Hell. Why do I even specify black? It seems that the left side of politics always act like fools in the streets.

[edit on 9-7-2010 by Gorman91]

The outcome of the trial really doesn't matter to alot of them.Regardless of the outcome of the trial their right to riot and loot shall not be infringed. This is just an excuse for Christmas in July to a bunch of animals who do not belong in society.

[edit on 9-7-2010 by adifferentbreed]

Originally posted by danielhanson420
i believe this should of been 2nd degree murder not involuntary manslaughter. you pulled a gun and shot a man whats involuntary about that.

Yes yes, this should have been a case of second degree murder for many reasons. This does look like a case of "badging down" a crime. The guy lost his mind...

reply to post by Logarock


Nope. Cop was a retard and criminally negligent.

Unless you have the logic to make a case that the cop did this in from of some 30 odd people and expected to get away with it?

Originally posted by eennoo

The officer was surprised after it happened. His body movements also indicate that he was not prepared for a gun shot, he flinched, and one of his hands moved away from the gun in fear. He didn't expect it.

He shouldnt have even been thinking taser in that situation. This is sort of a Freudian Slip if you ask me.