Maybe justice will be served in this case.
Excerpt from San Francisco Chronicle…
Johannes Mehserle, 27, of Lafayette was taken into custody in Douglas County, Nev., said Deputy Steve Velez of the Douglas County sheriff’s office. The arrest was also confirmed by David Chai, chief of staff to Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums.
Mehserle was arrested in the New Year’s Day shooting of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old supermarket worker from Hayward who was lying facedown after being pulled off a BART train by police investigating a fight. An Alameda County judge signed an arrest warrant alleging murder, and Mehserle surrendered without incident, authorities said…
…Authorities have been under immense pressure to take action in the case. On Tuesday, BART board President Thomas Blalock and board Director Carole Ward Allen sent a letter to Orloff, urging the district attorney to move expeditiously to complete the investigation and file charges if warranted.
Some Oakland community leaders and civil rights activists said the case is symbolic of larger problems with police officers using excessive force on young black men. Grant was black and Mehserle is white.
The arrest came on the eve of a protest scheduled for 4 p.m. today outside Oakland City Hall, the latest in a series of demonstrations in which BART has been accused of mishandling the investigation…
…His departure came the same day Grant was buried and a peaceful protest at the Fruitvale BART Station erupted into violence in downtown Oakland. Demonstrators set cars on fire and broke windows at dozens of businesses. By night’s end, police had arrested 105 people.
Grant’s family has filed a $25 million legal claim against BART, signaling an intention to sue for damages. The family’s attorney, John Burris, said late Tuesday that he was pleased to hear of Mehserle’s arrest…
The question that my husband and I have been debating, and I honestly don’t know the answer:
Are transit police officers fully trained police officers?
Was this BART officer just a hired security service or a full fledge police officer?
To me, it makes some difference because it could speak to his ability to handle this situation and his likelihood to panic. That’s my hubby’s theory is that he simply panicked and shot Oscar. If he’s hired security, then I don’t think he should even carry a gun. Taser, yes. Gun, no.
Here’s a little blurb I found on wikipedia regarding transit officers…
“Depending on the jurisdiction, they may not have any more authority than a private security firm”
See my other post on this tragedy entitled “NEW YEAR’S DAY SHOOTING OF OSCAR GRANT AT BART STATION IN OAKLAND. LET’S TALK ABOUT IT.“ True to the title of the aforementioned post, let’s keep this dialog going.
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i’m pretty sure he’s not just security. i think BART hires police from the state. so i think he’s a real cop, but not a member of Oakland PD.
About panicking, if the cop did panic what for? Another cop had a knee on the boys back facedown. Would the cop panic if the boy was white? NO!
BART police are a full fledged police force. They are unusual in that their juridiction crosses so many geographical jurisdictions (unlike say a campus police force). This may be one reason why they have no civilian review board. I’m pretty sure that that is going to change.