Protesters gather in Oakland over ex-cop's release

[cory777]

Source: Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. — About 300 protesters gathered in downtown Oakland on Sunday to show their anger over a former San Francisco Bay Area transit police officer’s pending release from jail after serving 11 months of a two-year sentence for killing an unarmed passenger.

Under a heavy police presence, the protesters held a peaceful demonstration near City Hall as they vented their continued frustration before Johannes Mehserle’s scheduled release Monday from a Los Angeles County jail. He was ordered to serve time there after his high-profile trial was moved to Southern California last year.

“The people know it was wrong,” Jabari Shaw, 32, a protester who also attended Mehserle’s trial, said Sunday. “As much as we want justice, we’re still not getting it.”

Mehserle, 29, was convicted last July of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Grant, 22, on a Bay Area Rapid Transit train station platform on New Year’s Day 2009.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110613/ap_on_re_us/us_train_station_shooting_1

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Video of the incident - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2LDw5l_yMI

Breaking Activist News http://activistnews.blogspot.com/

[AtheistCrusader]

1. This was the jackass in the BART transit shooting, for those unfamiliar

with the name Mehserele.

[LAGC]

2. Yeah, I remember the name.

Sure seems like cops always get off light when they fuck up.

They probably kept him in protective custody the whole time in jail too, so no one would beat him up.

Privileged class indeed.

[somone]

3. 11 months for murder

Justice for all, eh?

[slackmaster]

6. He was convicted of voluntary manslaughter, not murder

Read and learn about what the terms mean in the state of California:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=pen&group=00001-01000&file=187-199

[izquierdista]

4. What kind of jub future does he have?

I would hope that no law enforcement agency would hire him. But I'd be willing to bet Blackwater/Xe/CheneyDrones will pick him up.

[slackmaster]

5. With a felony conviction, his options are severely limited

Most likely he'll end up working at a meat processing plant, or driving a taxi.

[alp227]

7. He's appealing this conviction, do you think he'll most likely lose? n/t

[slackmaster]

8. Yes, I think he'll lose

The evidence of his negligence was pretty strong.