Watch Mehserle Verdict: BART Police Shooting of Oscar Grant
A Los Angeles jury has reached a verdict in the criminal case against former Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) officer Johannes Mehserle in the shooting death of Oscar Grant III in January 2009.
Case Background
On the early morning hours of New Year's Day 2009, BART Police officers responded to reports of a fight on a crowded Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train returning from San Francisco. The police officers detained Grant and several other passengers on the platform at the Fruitvale BART Station. Mehserle and another officer were restraining Grant, who was allegedly resisting arrest.
The events were captured on multiple digital and cell phone cameras and showed Mehserle shooting the 22-year-old Grant in the back as he lay face-down on the platform. Grant was pronounced dead the next morning at Highland Hospital in Oakland.
On January 13, Alameda County prosecutors charged Mehserle with murder for the shooting. He resigned his position and pled not guilty, claiming that he mistook his gun for his Taser stun gun. The Mehserle trial began on June 10, 2010.
Closing Arguments and Mehserle Verdict
Los Angeles County Judge Robert J. Perry was assigned to the case. Judge Perry granted the jurors 3 conviction options: 2nd-degree murder (15 years to life in prison), voluntary manslaughter (3 to 11 years), or involuntary manslaughter (2 or 4 years). Otherwise, the jury may acquit Mehserle.
On July 8, 2010, the jury has found Mehserle guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Meshlere's additional conviction for the use of a gun in Grant's death, could carry a sentence of 5 to 14 years.
