Results tagged “oscargrant”

After this weekend's headline-churning incident featuring a BART cop protecting passengers from unruly, drunk Michael Joseph Gibson, 37 -- the twist being that the officer accidentally (?) broke a pane of glass during the arrest at the West Oakland Station -- Assemblymember Tom Ammiano released the following statement:

At a court hearing this afternoon in Oakland, Judge Morris Jacobson of Alameda County Superior Court decided to move the trial of Johannes Mehserle to Los Angeles in an effort to get a fair trail. Jacobson promised in September that the trial would move out of the area.

Declaring that he couldn't get a fair trial because of public outrage and we-are-all-Oscar-Grant fetishism, Judge Morris Jacobson ruled that Officer Johannes Mehserle, the BART cop accused of murdering Oscar Grant on New Year's Day, will get to have his trial moved out of Alameda County. In a court order, Jacobson wrote, "This case ... presents a grouping of factors that foreclose any real hope of insulating jurors from the pressure of the public outrage in Alameda County," Jacobson wrote in a 28-page order. "Defendant has met his burden of showing there is a reasonable probability that he cannot get a fair trial in Alameda County." A hearing at a later date will decide where, exactly, the trial will take place.

The father of Oscar Grant III, Oscar Grant II, is suing the transit agency that he thinks is responsible for his son's death. According to CBS 5/AP, "Oscar Grant Jr., who is in prison for murder, filed the civil rights lawsuit in San Francisco federal court, seeking unspecified damages." His attorney says that he"hopes people look past his client's murder conviction to understand there was a close relationship between father and son." Which is oddly touching. And depressing. Anyway, BART Officer Johannes Mehserle, if you recall, sits in the clink, facing murder charges for killing Grant on New Year's Day.

Most of you should recall the name of Oscar Grant, who was shot late on New Year's Eve at the Fruitvale BART station by a certain BART cop named Johannes Mehserle. Said shooting led to much outrage, protest, and rioting over there in the East Bay. Well, as of today a new independent report has been released to the public detailing all the non-confidential (read: boring) procedural items that have been under investigation regarding BART cops and their tactics and procedures. SF Appeal has some bullet points. Suffice it to say their tactics and procedures were bad, and no one will be carrying their Tasers next to their handguns anymore.

The trial for a jury to decide whether Bart cop Johannes Mehserle, 27, intended to shoot and kill Oscar Grant at the Fruitvale Bart station on New Year's Day will happen on October 13, ruled Alameda County Superior Court Judge Morris Jacobson today. Set to spark a media frenzy in Alameda County, Jacobson also set a hearing on September 11th, "asking that Mehserle's trial be moved away from Alameda County because he doesn't think Mehserle can get a fair trial in the county," reports CBS 5. If you recall, just after the preliminary hearing earlier this month, Superior Court Judge C. Don Clay admitted the following: "There is no doubt in my mind that Mr. Mehserle intended to shoot Oscar Grant with a gun, not a Taser."

After ruling today that disgraced BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle will, in fact, stand trial for the New Year's Day killing of Oscar Grant, Superior Court Judge C. Don Clay said the following.

At 9 a.m. today, the preliminary hearing for BART officer Johannes Mehserle began. Mehserle is charged with the murder of Oscar Grant. The former officer's defense, most likely, will center around the idea that he meant to fire his Taser, not his pistol, that fateful morning. If you recall, Grant was shot on New Year's Day at the Fruitvale station after Grant and some pals were detained by BART officers.

BART office Johannes Mehserle, charged with shooting and killing Oscar Grant on New Year's Day at the Frutivale station -- was dealt another blow last week. After asking to have his whopping $3 million bail reduced to a measly $100,000, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Larry Goodman denied his request. According to Michael Rains, Mehserle's attorney, the bail deserved a drastic cut because a previous judge "abused his discretion because he was influenced by the public's outrage over this case." Mehserle, we should point out, is now free after coughing up the $3 million bail.

The attorneys for former Bart police officer Johannes Mehserle, who killed Oscar Grant on New Years Day, are asking the Alameda County Superior Court judge to disqualify District Attorney Tom Orloff and his office from the case. The lawyers say that Orloff violated state and federal laws, State Bar ethics rules, and the Constitution when he sent two Oakland officers to question Mehserle in Nevada without his attorney present. Based on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1964, these circumstances would ordinarily result in any evidence obtained in the illegal questioning being suppressed, but Mehserle had invoked his right to remain silent and refused to speak to the officers. Laurie Levenson, a law professor at Loyola University in Los Angeles and a former federal prosecutor, told the Chronicle that removing an entire prosecutor's office from a case for a violation would be extreme. "I think most judges would have a stern talking-to with the prosecutor, but if there's no evidence to suppress, that would be the end of it." State Attorney General Jerry Brown would take over the prosecution if Orloff's office were to be removed.

Get your "We Are All Oscar Grant" t-shirt cleaned. Tim Redmond over at SFBG has word that BART is holding a public meeting. Why? Because "they want to hear concerns about civilian oversight of the BART police." After the New Year's Day killing of Oscar Grant at the Fruitvale station by a transit officer, BART has come under fire for, well, indiscriminate fire, so this is a decent effort to try smoothing things over via a public forum. Some want BART cops to work sans firearms. Others want to fling red paint in the face of BART general managers. Tom Ammiano wants the transit agency to create a San Francisco-ish oversight agency. But what say you? Let them know Saturday, May 2 at 1 p.m. at the John P. Bort Metro Center Auditorium (101 - 8th Street, Oakland).

According to Matier & Ross, an interoffice romance, if you will, between two BART officers might have played a part in the shooting death of Oscar Grant. M&R report:

Family members of Oscar Grant are asking for a bountiful $50 million from Bay Area Rapid Transit, chief of police Gary Gee, and three of the officers (Tony Pirone, Marysol Domenic, and Johannes Mehserle). Oscar Grant, if you recall, was the young, unarmed father who was shot and killed by Officer Mehserle on New Year's Day. Grant family attorney Attorney John Burris has called the shooting "intentional."

Johannes Mehserle, the BART officer who shot and killed Oscar Grant on New Year's Day, was released from jail late this afternoon on bond. He had been at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin since Jan. 13. Another court date is set for Feb. 12. Protesters have gathered around the Oakland City courthouse. Police are on alert. Tension is in the air. We are all American Apparel. Etcetera, etcetera, and so forth.

Police tasings, which have provided endless entertainment over the last few years, are commonplace for itchy triggerfingered cops. According to SFGate, that's just what Bart cop Johannes Mehserle wanted to do in lieu fatally shooting and killing Oscar Grant on New Year's Day.

Former Bart officer Johannes Mehserle was back in court today in order to ask a judge for bail. If you recall, the 27-year-old disgraced cop pleaded not guilty to the murder of Oscar Grant. He is currently residing in the clink. Oscar Grant, as you all know by now, was shot and killed at the Fruitvale Station platform on New Year's Day as he was cuffed and pinned to the ground. Then, people rightfully freaked the fuck out, white college students feverishly fetishized the plight of black people, somebody erroneously claimed that "we are all Oscar Grant," and Cindy Sheehan presumably shed crocodile tears about horror of it all. But the good news about all of this, if any, is that Bart police have claimed that they will sharpen their sloppy police force. According to a Chronicle report, Bart botched the Grant investigation. Big time.

Matthew Williams, created of this controversial-ish Bart gun shirt, talked to SFist today. One thing Williams wanted to point out is that all the proceeds from the Bart shirt are "being donated to Oscar Grant's family." So, to those of you who thought he was profiting from the shirt, rest assured that you're wrong. If you want to get one of your own, check out Matthew Did That for more details.

According to Bart spokesperson Linton Johnson, Bart officers "have been spit upon and yelled at by an angry public." Even though the transit agency has promised a "vigorous investigation" into the shooting death of Oscar Grant, as well as this week's revelation of police brutality prior to Grant's death, a few allegedly upset Bart activists have shamelessly to officers that have had nothing to do with what went down on New Year's Day. So, you know, do not spit, verbally or physically abuse Bart officers.

New cellphone footage of the night of Oscar Grant's murder has surfaced. What does it show? It seems, according to reports, a second BART officer, not Johannes Mehserle, can be seen assaulting a suspect moments before Grant's shooting death. In the footage, the officer, named Tony Pirone, goes over to one of the New Year's Day men who was sitting on the ground and clocks him square in the face. KTVU had this to say after viewing the footage:

Johannes Mehserle, the ex-BART officer who shot and killed Oscar Grant on New Year's Day, pleaded not guilty yesterday to murder. During a "tense" hearing, Mehserle "entered court for about three minutes ... spoke only to say 'yes' three times, in response to questions from Judge Robert McGuiness about whether he waived his rights to a speedy trial," according to the Chronicle. He is currently being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail over in Dublin.

Even though BART officer Johannes Mehserle was arrested and charged with the murder of Oscar Grant, violence hit the streets of Oakland last night as yesterday's protest ended. About 18 people were arrested last night after a "splinter group" went on a window smashing rampage. If you recall, Mehserle, who is white, fired a fatal shot into the back of unarmed Oscar Grant, who is black, at the Frutivale BART station on New Year's Day. Inexplicably, angry "activists" then used Grant as a signifier of anything from a fascist police state to violence in the Gaza Strip.

In an amazing twist, murder charges were officially filed against Johannes Mehserle, 27, who (allegedly) shot and killed Oscar Grant on New Year's Day on the Fruitvale BART station platform. The amazing part is that Mehserle is being charged with murder, not manslaughter. (Even those cops in NYC who shot Sean Bell just hours before his wedding were just charged with manslaughter.) If you recall, Matier & Ross said if "Mehserle is charged with a crime in Grant's shooting, it will be a first."

Although BART cop Johannes Mehserle was arrested yesterday, another protest is planned today from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in front of Oakland City Hall (Frank Ogawa Plaza). But wait, there's more! Some Facebook group exploiting the name of Oscar Grant -- hilariously billing themselves Coalition Against Police Execution (CAPE), because, other than a few nutty right-wingers, just who is FOR police execution? -- is asking you to bring a white t-shirt to the rally so they can help you create your own Oscar Grant T-shirt. It seems they also need money and food. Because at its core, tonight's protest is a party. You can go here for more details.

Johannes Mehserle was arrested in Nevada today in connection with the shooting and killing of Oscar Grant on New Year's Day. According the Chronicle, "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." (Due to death threats, Mehserle stashed himself in Nevada.) It seems an Alameda County judge signed an arrest warrant today, and Mehserle surrendered with no fuss or muss. A surprising update to this case for sure. We will update with more when more details of the arrest are made public on Wednesday.

by Hunter Walker

IndyBay, the Bay Area's best online humor site, admits to wreaking havoc -- havoc!! -- on a North Berkeley BART station. To save you precious index finger energy, we will repost the post in its entirety. Ahem.