Meserhle Trial for death of Oscar Grant begins in LA (Los Angeles: crime, salary)

[18Montclair]

Trial Begins For Former BART Officer Charged With Murder | Johannes Mehserle (http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/news/local/bart-officer-johannes-mehserle-murder-trial-20100602 - broken link)

Superior Court Judge Robert J. Perry instructed 46 prospective panelists to fill out a 14-page questionnaire quizzing them on whether they have heard or read anything about the Jan. 1, 2009, shooting death of Oscar Grant by Johannes Mehserle, now 28, on a BART platform at Oakland's Fruitvale station.

Fifty-four other people were excused during the morning session -- with most telling the judge that it would be a financial hardship to serve on the case, which is expected to last three to four weeks. A few others said they had already formed opinions about the case and could not be unbiased.

The judge told the two panels that the prosecution asserts Mehserle, now 28, murdered the 22-year-old Hayward man, while the defense contends it was an accident. He also told the potential jurors that the case had been moved from Oakland to Los Angeles because "there was a great deal of publicity" in the Bay Area.

Perry told the potential jurors that his sole interest was "to have a fair trial for both sides," noting they were escorted into the courtroom through a back door and will remain in the courthouse each day during the trial and be served lunch in an effort to keep them from being subjected to outside influences.

That justice may have its day.

[Nineties Flava]

Seriously... if this guy gets acquitted then the judicial system is the biggest farce this side of his defense. Does anyone really believe he confused a gun for a taser? I feel bad for his family but not him...

That being said, the Oakland riots were equally stupid... that was not the way to make sure that justice is served. All it accomplished was getting him moved to LA.

And for those who say that the outrage over this case should be directed towards black on black crime... how do you solve black on black crime when the protectors of the law are equally crooked? This is 1 of a couple hundred cases of police shooting (and often killing) unarmed black men in Oakland. I understand that the job requires you to put your life on the line and every moment matters but... Mehserle killed an unarmed man who was already on the ground and he had three other officers next to him. He ****ed up big time.

[andyadhi01]

Given the history of CA with police brutality I guess this murdered will get away free and will be given a heroes welcome! Does anyone know if he is still getting his 6 figure salary?

[gogetta]

Regardless of whether it was an accident or not, this "accident" should never have happened and regardless of what it was he deserves to have the book thrown at him. Justice needs to be served. This whole incident was a mess and the actions of all the officers was bad. With that said, I find it hard to believe that they can find a jury in LA who hasn't heard of this case. I assume that this case received a lot of media attention in LA as well.

[Oakland Uptown]

It's disgusting reading the comments on SF gate relating to this story, too many people think Grant deserved death because they figure he was a worthless thug. Racist scum.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by Oakland Uptown

It's disgusting reading the comments on SF gate relating to this story, too many people think Grant deserved death because they figure he was a worthless thug. Racist scum.

Yes, its disgusting.

What I find most offensive of all to be honest is how callous Meserhle and the other BART police officers were after Grant was shot. They picked him up(hogtied) and carried him off like they had been hunting and he was their prized kill. As if it was no big deal.

Even if it were an accident, he must have known after he had pulled the trigger that he just SHOT someone...then why act like it was nothing at all? Why not alert his superior that he had just made a huge mistake?

Why carry his victim away like a damn animal? That is what really peeves me about this. How he reacted to what he claims was 'an accident'-people who do things 'accidentally' don't react like it was done deliberately.

[Mr. Fantastic]

The Oakland riots, and other crimes spurred by this incident caused far more damage and death than the original incident.

This incident proved how volatile Oakland really is. I could honestly see a huge "LA Riot" type of disturbance happening if this cop gets acquitted.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by gogetta

Regardless of whether it was an accident or not, this "accident" should never have happened and regardless of what it was he deserves to have the book thrown at him. Justice needs to be served. This whole incident was a mess and the actions of all the officers was bad. With that said, I find it hard to believe that they can find a jury in LA who hasn't heard of this case. I assume that this case received a lot of media attention in LA as well.

Yes, I am sure that by now its probably reported on in LA too...this is one of those stories where most people form an opinion almost immediately. Some are going to automatically assume that Grant was a criminal and he provoked the Meserhle and others are going to assume that Meserhle was just another cop killing another black man, only this time it was caught on camera phones and witnessed by lots of people.

[Oakland Uptown]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

Yes, its disgusting.

What I find most offensive of all to be honest is how callous Meserhle and the other BART police officers were after Grant was shot. They picked him up(hogtied) and carried him off like they had been hunting and he was their prized kill. As if it was no big deal.

Even if it were an accident, he must have known after he had pulled the trigger that he just SHOT someone...then why act like it was nothing at all? Why not alert his superior that he had just made a huge mistake?

Why carry his victim away like a damn animal? That is what really peeves me about this. How he reacted to what he claims was 'an accident'-people who do things 'accidentally' don't react like it was done deliberately.

There are other reports of this same BART cop going overboard and threatening people. He's a scum bag, BART police should not carry guns. I've even seen them writing tickets on the freeway for people they feel are speeding. They have way too much power.

[rah]

Originally Posted by Mr. Fantastic

The Oakland riots, and other crimes spurred by this incident caused far more damage and death than the original incident.

Zero people died in the riots in Oakland.

One person died in the BART shooting.

You lose.