BART officer heads to court in Los Angeles for shooting of Oscar Grant
Emily Henry | 1-7-2010 | Comments |
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The trial of Johannes Mehserle is the first of its kind. Never before has a California law enforcement officer faced a murder trial for an on-duty shooting. Read the full story.FROM THE COURT ROOM: On Friday, Mehserle appeared at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles to meet for the first time Judge Robert Perry. Perry spent the half-hour hearing laying out his terms for the upcoming trial: he listened to an argument from Oakland TV-station KTVU that the trial should be televised, and denied the plea. There will be no cameras, photography or audio recording allowed in the court. Additionally, Perry renewed that gag order issued previous to the trial being moved from Alameda County to Los Angeles. Trial participants will not be allowed to comment on any aspect of the trial, either to the media or "on any internet sites."
Both defense and prosecution attorneys suggested that the trial will take eight to 10 days in total. Perry expects proceedings to begin in May.
In the mean time, Defense attorney Michael Rains alerted the court that he is seeking a motion to reduce Mehserle's bail amount, which currently stands at $3 million. The court will resume to deal with this motion on February 19th, at 8:30am.
The Los Angeles Oscar Grant Justice Coalition will meet on January 17th, 5pm, at Chuco’s Justice Center, 1137 E. Redondo Blvd, Inglewood.
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Justice for Oscar Grant protesters tell Los Angeles to take heed, brace for impact
LEFT: UCLA students stood outside the court house Friday morning.
Once news of the Oakland shooting of 22 year-old Oscar Grant on New Year's Day 2009 made its way into the public sphere, the rallies begin. Some were peaceful. Others quickly turned to violence and destruction. Judge Robert Perry, who is presiding over the murder trial of BART officer Johannes Mehserle, told a Los Angeles court Friday morning that it had been more than "civil unrest" happening in the streets of Oakland. More than 170 businesses were vandalized during the height of the public outcry. Because of such an extreme level of public interest in the Bay Area, the case was moved to Los Angeles.
Now, the courts can only hope that the story doesn't get out of hand, once again. Demonstrators have already been gathering in the city, brandishing their slogan "We are all Oscar Grant. The whole damn system is guilty." What has helped make the case such an impactful one is the publicly available footage of the shooting, taken by bystanders at the Fruitvale BART station. Multiple videos posted on YouTube, viewed hundreds of thousands of times, show Grant face down on the floor with his hands behind his back, being restrained by both Mehserle and another BART officer. Suddenly Mehserle stands up and pulls out his pistol, which he then fires into Grant's back. Members of the public can clearly be heard, before and after the shooting, shouting protests at the use of physical force by the BART officers.
Although Mehserle has never released a formal statement, his attorney claims that the officer intended to reach for his his tazer and instead mistakenly drew his pistol. Outside the Los Angeles court house, protesters were unsympathetic. One teenager from Free LA High said, "there are no such things as mistakes. Everything happens for a reason." Another woman said that Mehserle deserved to be murdered for his actions.
Media presence outside the court on Friday morning was relatively strong. The protesters, however, were peaceful. Among them stood Oscar Grant's family, including his mother Wanda Johnson who is separately seeking $25 million in a civil lawsuit against Mehserle for wrongful death.
During the hearing, Judge Perry responded to the Defense attorney's concern about Grant's family and their attorney speaking to the press. Perry warned that although he has no power to force individuals outside the case to remain quiet, he will delay the trial if necessary. "If it takes five years, it takes five years," said Perry. Outside, Ms. Johnson declined to answer any questions from the South LA Report.
Making a statement in black military uniforms, berets and shades, the Black Riders Liberation Party stood silently in line beside the crowd. According to one female member of the organization, Los Angeles needs to take heed and pay close attention to the case of Oscar Grant because he represents an ongoing war between the police and people of color.
Follow our tweets for updates and live coverage of the Mehserle trial.
Catch up on the story:
BART Shooting Case to Resume in Los Angeles - FOX (Jan 7, 2009)
Southern California: First Cop on Trial for Murder in History of State Is Headed Your Way - Los Angeles Independent Media Center (Nov.18, 2009)
Oscar Grant Death: BART Officer Mehserle Arrested - Huffington Post (Jan.14, 2009)
Tags: bart brutality johannes mehserle killing los angeles oscar grant police trial