Videos of New Year's Day killing of Oscar Young by a BART officer in downtown Oakland coming out

[Slimprofits]

Fruitvale is in East Oakland. It's a neighborhood, a street and a BART station. BART is the Bay Area Rapid Transit.



Numerous cell phone videos are being released to the media. He takes the gun out, stands up and boom.

KTVU-2

video shows the shooting from across the platform in another train stopped at Fruitvale

CBS-5

The family hired the very high profile attorney, Mr. John Burris. $25 million lawsuit has been filed.

[KGW]

Re: Videos of New Year's Day killing of Oscar Young by a BART officer in downtown Oakland coming out

Epic Fail on the part of the officer. He shoots a handgun at close range directly into the back of a person laying prone on concrete. He could have killed someone else with the ricochet.

[Mega]

Re: Videos of New Year's Day killing of Oscar Young by a BART officer in downtown Oakland coming out

One wonders if this poor chap had remaind seated & NOT got up & got all "Big & Bad" if he would now be still very much alive!

Mike

[Slimprofits]

Re: Videos of New Year's Day killing of Oscar Young by a BART officer in downtown Oakland coming out

I wonder why the officer brandished his gun.

Two of them holding the victim face down on the platform. One stands up and as he does take the gun out and fires.

http://www.ktvu.com/video/18406930/index.html

fast forward to 2:10

It looks like depraved indifference.

This is the full version of a video taken from the platform. Viewpoint of the shooting is blocked but you can see the scene before it happens. The officers appear to have the platform under control. At one point, a person is taken down 15 feet away from where the group is on the ground against the wall. The noise is coming from the train, not the platform.

http://www.ktvu.com/video/18406962/index.html

also fast forward to 2:10

[GRG55]

Re: Videos of New Year's Day killing of Oscar Young by a BART officer in downtown Oakland coming out

One wonders if this poor chap had remaind seated & NOT got up & got all "Big & Bad" if he would now be still very much alive!

Mike

All the behaviours we exhibit in the colonies, we learned from a parent...

[I never carried a backpack on the London Underground ever again]

Jean Charles de Menezes
Jean Charles de Menezes
Born	7 January 1978(1978-01-07) Gonzaga, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Died	22 July 2005 (aged 27) Stockwell Underground Station, London, England

[KGW]

Re: Videos of New Year's Day killing of Oscar Young by a BART officer in downtown Oakland coming out

As bad as it sounds, I think the officer was going to tase the young man, but grabbed his pistol by "mistake." That is some mistake.

[Digidiver]

Re: Videos of New Year's Day killing of Oscar Young by a BART officer in downtown Oakland coming out

Looks like they're getting some feedback:

Protests over BART shooting turn violent:
A protest over the fatal shooting by a BART police officer of an unarmed man mushroomed into several hours of violence Wednesday night as demonstrators smashed storefronts and cars, set several cars ablaze and blocked streets in downtown Oakland.

The roving mob expressed fury at police and frustration over society's racial injustice. Yet the demonstrators were often indiscriminate, frequently targeting the businesses and prized possessions of people of color.
Link:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...5CN1.DTL&tsp=1

[Sapiens]

Re: Videos of New Year's Day killing of Oscar Young by a BART officer in downtown Oakland coming out

As bad as it sounds, I think the officer was going to tase the young man, but grabbed his pistol by "mistake." That is some mistake.

Looks more like an execution.

[Andreuccio]

Re: Videos of New Year's Day killing of Oscar Young by a BART officer in downtown Oakland coming out

Looks more like an execution.

There's a second video of the shooting. I tried to link directly, but failed. From here:

http://www.ktvu.com/video/18406962/index.html

look at the alternate video titled "Stunning new Video: New tape of BART shooting."

Hard to be sure, but from what I can tell it looks like the gun just went off in his hands. He looks surprised that it happened.

Also, they mention that the officer had a new child born within a day or two of the shooting. Not a recipe for on the job effectiveness, especially something as high tension, and with zero tolerance for mistakes, as police work.

If it's true that it was just a mistake, it's even more of a tragedy. Many lives ruined.

[KGW]

Re: Videos of New Year's Day killing of Oscar Young by a BART officer in downtown Oakland coming out

Looks like the tazer defense is out:

"Others are insisting that Mehserle meant to pull out his (less fatal) Taser, but this theory has since been discredited. Firstly, a Sig-Sauer handgun weighs three times what a Taser weighs, and the shape is completely distinct, and another expert noticed in the tape that the officer had previously withdrawn his Taser, located for safety reasons on the other side of his belt. In other words, he knew he was going for the gun. Hence the claim of accidental discharge, but this too raises a serious question of plausibility: when Mehserle drew his gun, Grant couldn’t see it, and so there could be no claim that it was meant to threaten the victim into passivity. In the end, if Mehserle is ever forced to give a statement, he will likely turn to the tried-and-true excuse that he “suspected” Grant had a gun in his pants."

http://www.counterpunch.org/maher01092009.html

[Sapiens]

BART officer arrested on murder warrant in NY Day shooting

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...A08A.DTL&tsp=1

(01-14) 00:13 PST Oakland -- The BART police officer who fatally shot an unarmed man on an Oakland train platform and then refused to explain his actions to investigators was arrested Tuesday in Nevada on suspicion of murder, authorities said.

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.

The shooting, which was recorded by passengers in videos widely circulated on the Internet and television, prompted public outrage, and some viewers said that the shooting appeared to be an execution.

Sources said Mehserle was in Nevada because he feared for his safety after death threats were made against him. Douglas County is 15 miles south of Carson City in northwestern Nevada and includes part of Lake Tahoe.

Mehserle's attorney, Christopher W. Miller of Sacramento, confirmed early today that his client was arrested on suspicion of murder. He said he would not comment further until a news conference today.

Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff was expected to announce details of the arrest today. He could not be reached late Tuesday.

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.

BART police on Monday turned over the results of their preliminary investigation to Orloff's office. A separate investigation by Oakland police was launched last week, and Mehserle's arrest was related to that probe, sources said. The state attorney general is also monitoring the case.

BART officers had detained Grant and several other passengers at about 2 a.m. Jan. 1 as they investigated a fight aboard a train from San Francisco. Passengers with cellular phone cameras captured footage that shows Grant lying facedown when he was shot.

In the videos, Mehserle appears to be trying to put cuffs on Grant, and Grant appears to be struggling, when Mehserle suddenly pulls his service weapon from his holster and fires one shot into Grant's back.

Mehserle declined to speak to BART criminal investigators after the shooting. Then last Wednesday he resigned rather than answer questions from BART's internal affairs division.

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.

"If it's true, the family is delighted, and it will really help with the healing process," Burris said. "This is also very important for the community. This had to occur; it was almost a no-brainer. I think the district attorney ought to be commended for moving (the case) expeditiously."

Chronicle staff writers Jaxon Van Derbeken, Andrew Ross and Christopher Heredia contributed to this report. E-mail the writers at dbulwa@sfchronicle.com, lfulbright@sfchronicle.com and hlee@sfchronicle.com

[Andreuccio]

Re: BART officer arrested on murder warrant in NY Day shooting

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...A08A.DTL&tsp=1

If he goes to trial, batten down the hatches when the verdict comes out. If he gets acquitted, it could get ugly. I was in Los Angeles when the Rodney King verdict came out. It was pretty scary for a few days. A lot of places burned down.

The King verdict took about a year from the beating to the end of the trial. A year from now things should be bad enough economically that inner cities throughout the country will be ready to explode.

[Scot]

Re: BART officer arrested on murder warrant in NY Day shooting

In the videos, Mehserle appears to be trying to put cuffs on Grant, and Grant appears to be struggling, when Mehserle suddenly pulls his service weapon from his holster and fires one shot into Grant's back.

From the looks of things, while struggling with Grant, Mehserle simply got angry and frustrated, his emotions took control and he fired. I don't think that's legally murder, but it at least looks like voluntary manslaughter. I think that's 3-11 years in California.

[GRG55]

Re: BART officer arrested on murder warrant in NY Day shooting

From the looks of things, while struggling with Grant, Mehserle simply got angry and frustrated, his emotions took control and he fired. I don't think that's legally murder, but it at least looks like voluntary manslaughter. I think that's 3-11 years in California.

So why does someone who gets so easily angry and frustrated have a job like that, and carry a loaded gun?

[raja]

Re: BART officer arrested on murder warrant in NY Day shooting

So why does someone who gets so easily angry and frustrated have a job like that, and carry a loaded gun?

To have a job like that, you've got to have a personality that finds danger and violence "attractive", right? Police are the flip side of criminals, in a way.
I wouldn't want to be a cop . . . but I'm glad some do.