Ex-officer arrested in BART shooting

DaemonSeid · #1 01-14-2009, 09:26 AM

(CNN) -- The former police officer accused of shooting an unarmed man at a northern California commuter train station was arrested Tuesday in Nevada, authorities told CNN affiliate KGO-TV.

Oscar Grant, 22, was killed January 1 in a shooting at a subway station in California's Bay Area.

Former Bay Area Rapid Transit officer Johannes Mehserle was arrested on a fugitive warrant connected to the fatal shooting, KGO reported.

Mehserle is accused of the shooting of Oscar Grant III at an Oakland, California, station on New Year's Day. The incident was captured on video by several witnesses and spurred violent protests in the northern California city.

Mehserle, 27, was taken into custody in Douglas County, Nevada at about 7 p.m. (10 p.m. ET), Sgt. Dan Coverly of Douglas County Sheriff's Office told KGO.

Mehserle resigned from his job as a BART police officer days after the shooting. The transit agency's police force and Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff are investigating the incident.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/01/14/...est/index.html

Maybe Cali can set the example for New York

epchick · #2 01-14-2009, 07:09 PM

I'm glad he's arrested, and i'm hoping they go forward with the murder charges.

There were so many videos of the shooting, of different angles, yet BART was saying there wasn't a clear image. That they couldn't tell whether the officer did anything wrong.

Ummm, the guy was face down on the group, arms behind his back with 2 officers holding him down (one with his foot). The officer who shot Oscar had NO REASON to pull out a gun and "accidentally" fire a shot.

I'd like to see all those officers have charges pressed on them, because they were using excessive force on a lot of the people that were watching the incident.

Kevin · #3 01-14-2009, 08:28 PM

His excuse, IIRC, is that he meant to pull his taser and he pulled a gun instead. This is why most police departments require tasers and firearms to not be on the same side of the belt.

I don't find that scenario likely, but I'll admit that it's possible. If nothing else, the officer is negligent as all get out.

epchick · #4 01-14-2009, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin

His excuse, IIRC, is that he meant to pull his taser and he pulled a gun instead. This is why most police departments require tasers and firearms to not be on the same side of the belt.

I don't find that scenario likely, but I'll admit that it's possible. If nothing else, the officer is negligent as all get out.

That's what I don't understand, how do you accidentally pull out your gun & shoot it? The guy wasn't a new police officer. But he didn't even need his taser. Was he gonna taser Oscar's ass or something? The poor guy was laying on the floor not resisting anything. In fact he told the officers multiple times "don't taser me, don't shoot me. I've got a daughter."

Out of the whole group that were pull off of the BART, Oscar was the only cooperative one. On some of the videos, you see another guy start talking back to the officer and Oscar trys to calm him down.

SWTXBelle · #5 01-14-2009, 09:10 PM

Do you "shoot" a taser the same way you do a gun? Can't reach my brother the cop to ask him - but surely, you'd know if you grabbed one or the other.

epchick · #6 01-14-2009, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

Do you "shoot" a taser the same way you do a gun? Can't reach my brother the cop to ask him - but surely, you'd know if you grabbed one or the other.

So I looked under "police gun" and "police taser" and these images came up:

I would think that they would feel differently.

Kevlar281 · #7 01-14-2009, 10:43 PM

Most police officers keep their tasers mounted on their non gun hand side. So if a police officer is right handed their taser would be mounted on their left side with the butt of the gun facing forward. To draw the taser the police officer would have to reach across their body. I can't tell what is going on in this video but based on what happend the police officer was negligent and the department should evaluate its current policies.

PeppyGPhiB · #8 01-14-2009, 11:11 PM

Um, a law enforcement officer's gun, which I'm assuming was a semi-automatic, would feel totally different than the tazer. Anyone who's fired a semi knows what it feels like - weight, grip, etc. And I'm guessing he probably would've had a safety on? I call BS.

RU OX Alum · #9 01-15-2009, 09:35 AM

I hope he gets the death penalty. Filthy pig.