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Indybay Feature

Johannes Mehserle arrested

by Just read
Meserle arrested today, though it's unclear on what charges.
OAKLAND — Johannes Mehserle, the BART police officer who shot and killed an unarmed man New Year's Day, has been arrested, a high-ranking Oakland city official confirmed late Tuesday.

It was not clear what charges Mehserle could face. David Chai, the chief of staff for Mayor Ron Dellums, who confirmed the arrest, said he knew no further details.

Mehserle's killing of Oscar Grant III has led to massive public outcry, particularly since video of the shooting surfaced.
by read it where
where did you read this?
by g
(01-13) 21:36 PST Oakland -- Johannes Mehserle, the former BART police officer who shot and killed an unarmed man on an Oakland train platform on New Year's Day, was arrested in Nevada today in connection with the shooting, The Chronicle has learned.

Mehserle, 27, was taken into custody in Douglas County, Nevada, 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 connection with an investigation by the Oakland Police Department into the shooting of Oscar Grant, 22. An Alameda County judge signed an arrest warrant, and Mehserle surrendered without incident, authorities said.

Douglas County sheriff's officials refused to disclose what crime Mehserle was accused of committing in the arrest warrant. Deputy Velez said Sheriff Ron P. Pierini would make a statement on Wednesday.

Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff was also expected to announce details of the arrest Wednesday.

Efforts to reach attorneys for Mehserle were unsuccessful.

The arrest comes on the eve of a scheduled protest at 4 p.m. Wednesday outside Oakland City Hall, the latest in a series of demonstrations in which BART has been accused of mishandling the shooting investigation.

On Monday, BART police turned over the results of their preliminary investigation to Orloff's office. The separate investigation by Oakland police was launched last week. The state Attorney General is also monitoring the case.

BART officers had detained Grant and several other passengers at about 2 a.m. on Jan. 1 as they investigated a fight aboard a train from San Francisco.

Grant was lying face-down when Mehserle pulled his service weapon from his holster and fired one shot into his back.

Mehserle resigned last Wednesday rather than answer questions from BART investigators.

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 arrested 105 people.

Chronicle Staff Writers Jaxon Van Derbeken and christopher heredia contributed to this report. E-mail the writers at dbulwa [at] sfchronicle.com and lfulbright [at] sfchronicle.com.
by and other papers
to "cite your source"

sorry about that. I first saw it on ABC7's site, but now it's all over the internet., including the chronicle and Oakland Tribune, Mercury News, and other newspapers sites.
...if Mehserle goes on the run or is acquitted, well then, perhaps the DA finally got a fire under his butt with the next big demo approaching tomorrow
by Jobert
I just spoke with Christina Gomez from CAPE. She says that the protest is still on tomorrow:

“Tomorrow will definitely be a day for us to share this good news with folks. The job is not done. He has been arrested but he has not yet been prosecuted. We have to put pressure on DA Orloff…The fight is definitely not over…”
by anonymous dissenter
That's excellent news! Finally, a step in the right direction. Law enforcement is definitely scared shitless right now...
by Charge not stated
The charge on the monster is not stated in any media reports. I'm willing to bet it's some weak BS charge like involuntary manslaughter.
by nice
but no word on 1st, 2nd, or any other charges or enhancements
by murder charges
This is a start. Justice for Oscar Grant.
by we'll see
does anyone know of a single cop murder conviction?

got to keep the pressure up
by ?
When are the people on this website going to stop calling for wasting our tax dollars on these police brutality cases? WE ARE FOR ABOLISHING PRISONS AND THE DEATH PENALTY. This 27 year old kid (he is the same vintage as the 22 year old kid he shot) will most likely be acquitted in a county outside the Bay Area. If he is jailed on "involuntary manslaughter," he will not receive the treatment he needs of his mental illness: racism and being a gun nut. Meanwhile, the other kid is dead (he should have been home with his 4 year old daugher and wife/mother of the child at 2:30 a.m., not "out with the boys" and he should have waited until age 30 and owning a house before having a child). No jail time for the perpetrator will revive the dead kid; it will just waste our tax dollars. Unless you are a lawyer who makes money from police brutality lawsuits (and the millions asked for will pay for raising the 4 year old child and her college education), it is far better to organize a labor movement to put an end to the private profit system that benefits from racism and police brutality.
by former east-sider
I've heard CNN, etc. mention that it was for "murder," but given the circumstances it would be 2nd-degree at worst. Most likely the charge or conviction would be on involuntary manslaughter, because it did look accidental, although arising from the police jock mentality and extreme oafishness/stupidity. I am not sure; would the charges be enhanced because he is a police officer? If not, it probably should be. If we was going for his Taser, why would he be needing that in the first place? His partner had his knee on the guy's back, for God's sake!
Folks, he was escaping. When he resigned, he should have been arrested. and if he is then given bail (not usual in first degree murder cases-but then he is a former police officer with "ties to the community), a condition of his bail should have been that he stay in the Bay Area. We should make sure that the DA charges him with first degree murder. And because the DA has a conflict of interest up the wazoo -he works with the cops every day-, we need to demand a special prosecutor who will prosecute this killer to the full extent of the law. We should have no faith in the system to bring us justice, however the actions of all us, especially the angry people in the street, seem to be working for the moment. Good work Oakland! Keep up the Pressure! No Justice No Peace!
by an anarchist
Any cop who can't tell the difference between a tazer and a gun should be tazed and then shot. One less cop to harass us.
by Da Underworld
It's clear that Oakland Officials finally hear us and are taking a step in the right direction. Johannes Mehserle's arrest only proves that WE the citizens of California, who elect people to represent us, have the POWER to make Oakland Officials act in our interest. But we need to be united and never forget that once we relax, the system of injustice will return. Officer Mehserle has NOT been convicted of murder so the fight is far from over. Moreover, this is a stepping stone towards the real problem which is the Prison Industrial Complex, the Military Industrial Complex, gentrification, the police state etc. Let us not forget to demand Justice for Jason Vassell, Adolph Grimes III, and Bobbie Tolan whose families all need our support to bring about justice. We must unite across the country in these dark times of recession. Power to the people.
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