Posted on 01/14/2009 8:54:27 PM PST by indcons
The unarmed man killed by former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle on an Oakland train platform early New Year's Day put up a brief struggle with officers but had been restrained and had both arms behind him when he was shot in the back, police investigators said.
The conclusion by Oakland police, contained in a legal filing made public Wednesday, contributed to Alameda County prosecutors' decision to charge Mehserle, 27, with murdering 22-year-old Oscar Grant of Hayward.
It was an extraordinary decision. Several legal experts said they could recall no instance of a police officer in California being charged with murder for an on-duty incident, and Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff said he had never brought such a case in his 14 years on the job.
But the circumstances of the case are equally extraordinary, in that the shooting was filmed by several BART passengers and Mehserle has refused to talk to investigators about why he shot Grant. Orloff said Wednesday that both factors played into his decision to charge Mehserle with murder.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Life in prison should be quite interesting for Johannes Mehserle.
Eh. They are only doing this to this cop because this was all caught on tape.
Before that, they tried their best to lie about the incident. Thank God for cell phone videos.
Yes, most murderers do not have their crime posted on YouTube.
There must also be video recoded by BART security cameras in the station.
I've only seen one video of this, which was not very clear, but from what I could tell, the cop just screwed up big time. The other cops already had the guy on the ground, then Mehserle stands up, unholsters his gun, and it goes off. Doesn't look like he did it intentionally, but at the same time there was no reason to pull out his pistol either. Anyway, he's not talking for now, but I'm sure he and his lawyer will come up with some excuse.
Any cop that was with him that did not report what really happened, should be charged with assessory to murder.
a gun does not just jump out of a holster and go off killing a man.
He pulled that trigger and with intent.
You must be a mind reader.
Reminds me of a youtube video of a bunch of officers corralling a guy and this female deputy accidentally shoots her gun in their direction. In an adrenaline moment you can’t put your finger on the trigger unless you are intending to shoot.
It’s still out there, here’s the web address:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ez34Kg86AU&feature=related
He lawyered up. Smart move on his part. He knows it's a bad idea to talk to LE without a lawyer there.
/johnny
I hope she’s not still a police officer.
What happens is the prosecutor gets all pumped up and over charges the perp. OJ could have easily been found guilty of manslaughter, 2nd degree murder or some other lesser charge, but they went for murder one. The jury wasn't going to send OJ in for life or lethal injection so they just let him go. They tried to get the Rodney King police officers for attempted murder, instead of assault. This guy can get a lesser sentence or get completely off if the over shoot on the charge. Murder is a tough one if they can't prove his state of mind was to kill the guy. If he just injects the doubt that the guy had his hand under his body and the policeman thought he might have a gun in his belt, or maybe he was mistaken and reached for his tazer but pulled the gun instead, you could have a hung jury. The article says his hands were behind his back per the film, but the officer could say he thought he saw his hand going for his pants.
It's a tough case either way, but to get murder, you pretty much need to prove he thought and planed for awhile. Heaven help him if he screamed "Die Nig%^$" right before he pulled the trigger. It would also be inconvenient to have a white sheet hanging in the closet and swastika tattoo's. Anything short of that may get a lesser sentence.
“Several legal experts said they could recall no instance of a police officer in California being charged with murder for an on-duty incident, and Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff said he had never brought such a case in his 14 years on the job.”
I remember 2 California cops that were charged with murder from an on-duty incident.
The first is Craig Peyer-CHP officer arrested and convicted in the 1986 strangulation killing of Kara Knott in San Diego.
The second is another CHP officer arrested and convicted for murdering a motorist after a traffic stop way back in the early 70’s as I recall. I forget the name and the details.
You have got to be kidding. OH took gloves and an "assault knife" to call on his ex-wife. This is as good an example of premeditation as I can imagine.
That he killed Ron Goldman was no doubt an "accident," since apparently Ron was just in the right place at the wrong time, but he definitely planned to kil the woman.
So exercising the right to remain silent will also be used against you in the court of law. I can't believe the D.A. would cite that as a factor in charging this guy. The nonexistence of evidence is not going to get you a guilty verdict.
I have a sneaking suspicion that we will see a repeat of the first Rodney King verdicts with the DA trying to push a charge he won't be able to prove.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.