Johannes Mehserle is the BART officer who shot and killed Oscar Grant and was recently convicted of involuntary manslaughter by a jury in LA. The shooting, which took place in Oakland, sparked riots as many were demanding a Murder 2 conviction.Mehserle allegedly "mistaken" his service pistol for his taser and shot and killed Grant while he was laying face down on the ground. It's said that Mehserle needed more training.
You think? I am not a police officer, but you would expect that law enforcement would know the difference between a simple taser - or stun gun - and an actual 9 mm pistol. Next time I'm stopped, I will be sure not to provoke an officer!
In the wake of the verdict in the Oscar Grant case, 78 arrests were made and there was damage to 100 businesses around City Hall. Many venture to say it was the expectation of a riot plus law enforcement present on the streets where a "peaceful protest" was planned that actually sparked the riots.
We probably haven't seen the last of the riots, as on August 6th Johannes Mehserle will be sentenced. There is a good chance that all the former BART officer will get is probation, in which case he won't spend any additional time behind bars.
If I were Mehserle, I would ensure that I would be allowed to move somewhere a little safer than Oakland. He's definitely not welcomed there with all the people who are outraged by the incident which happened on New Year's day 2009.
What do you think of the Johannes Mehserle conviction? Is "involuntary manslaughter" enough? What about sentencing? Do you expect more than just probation? Stay tuned for further updates in this high profile case.
It was murder, plain and simple.
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