Violent Oakland Protests After White Officer Is Sentenced for Shooting Black Man
- Posted on November 6, 2010 at 11:44am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
- Print »
- Email »
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Police made more than 150 arrests as a crowd broke windows and knocked down fences, protesting a Los Angeles court decision to sentence a white former transit officer to the minimum term for fatally shooting an unarmed black man.
Friday night’s unrest was the latest in the case against defendant Johannes Mehserle, which has provoked periodic racial strife in Oakland since he shot and killed Oscar Grant while trying to arrest him on an Oakland train platform nearly two years ago.
The protests erupted hours after Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Perry sentenced Mehserle to a two-year prison sentence, provoking immediate anger from the victim’s family and friends who demanded a much harsher punishment.
“Oh my!” Grant’s mother Wanda Johnson shouted. She burst out of the courtroom saying, “He got nothing! He got nothing!”
Grant’s uncle, Bobby Cephus Johnson, said outside court: “I do believe it’s a racist criminal justice system.” But he added that the family was reacting calmly.
An Oakland rally billed as a tribute to Grant turned into a march through the downtown area with residences nearby, where demonstrators broke car and bus windows late Friday night. Some carried a banner reading “Justice for Oscar Grant.” Police helicopters hovered above, shining spotlights on the crowd.
Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts said the protest was declared an illegal assembly after one officer had his gun taken from him in a fight and another officer was hit by a car and suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Officers began making arrests about 8 p.m. and had detained and handcuffed 152 people by the time the protest had died down about 90 minutes later.
Police spokesman Jeff Thomason said officers checking the backpacks of several of those arrested found hammers, pepper spray, switchblades and anti-freeze.
Some residents of the area expressed empathy with the protesters but wished the demonstrators hadn’t taken out it on their neighborhood.
“They have a right to be angry to an extent, but don‘t break other people’s stuff,” said Mohammed Mofeed, who manages a liquor store about a block from where a large of group of people were arrested.
He said that he didn’t agree with the sentence, but didn’t want to see his store or other businesses damaged.
“If you’re going to protest, protest right,” he said. “Don‘t vandalize other people’s property”
Mehserle, 28, had faced a possible 14-year maximum term after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter. At the time of the shooting, Mehserle was a Bay Area Rapid Transit officer responding to a report of a fight.
In making his decision during the highly charged, 3½-hour hearing, Perry threw out a gun enhancement that could have added as much as 10 years in prison and said there was overwhelming evidence that it was an accidental shooting.
Perry said race would not factor into his decision and although Mehserle had shown “tons of remorse” for killing Grant, he would have to account that a “young man needlessly died.”
“I did the best I could with this case,” Perry told the courtroom. “My decisions today will not be well-received by many people. I’m sorry for that.”
Police said they were prepared in case there was a replay of the rioting in Oakland that followed the shooting on New Year’s Day 2009.
Mayor Ron Dellums said he understood the pain and disappointment sparked by the sentence.
“It is still my hope that people will express their anger, will express their disappointment, their outrage, their pain in a manner that is nonviolent, in a manner that is not destructive to our community,” he said at a news conference.
Johnson family attorney John Burris acknowledged a small step was taken by the justice system in sentencing Mehserle to two years, but he said that was insufficient.
“What you take from that is that Oscar Grant’s life was not worth very much,” Burris said.
Reaction to the case has drawn comparisons to the infamous 1991 Rodney King beating by Los Angeles police officers, which inflamed a racial divide and led to the disastrous 1992 riot when the officers were acquitted of brutality charges.
Defense attorney Michael Rains immediately filed an appeal. After time already served and good behavior credits, Mehserle will likely serve an additional six to seven months based on California’s sentencing guidelines, the lawyer said.
Mehserle was convicted in July in the videotaped killing of Grant, 22, in Oakland. The case was moved to Los Angeles for trial.
He testified during the trial that he thought Grant had a weapon and decided to shock him with his stun gun but instead pulled his .40-caliber handgun. Grant was unarmed and face down when he was shot.
Mehserle, shackled and wearing a jail jumpsuit, also stood before the judge before sentencing and apologized for the shooting, which he contended was accidental and not racially motivated.
“I want to say how deeply sorry I am,” Mehserle said. “Nothing I ever say or do will heal the wound. I will always be sorry for taking Mr. Grant from them.”
Prosecutors had sought a second-degree murder conviction, saying Mehserle became angry at Grant for resisting arrest.
However, jurors were given the choice of lesser charges, including voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. In reaching a decision on involuntary manslaughter, jurors found that Mehserle didn’t mean to kill Grant, but his behavior was still so negligent that it was criminal.
The judge rebuked prosecutors for arguing that Mehserle intentionally shot Grant, saying there wasn’t any evidence to back up that allegation. Perry also said he believed the videos showed Grant resisted arrest and many people, including Mehserle‘s fellow officers and Grant’s friends, contributed to the tragedy.
“All of these people share some responsibility,” Perry said.
___
Risling reported for the AP from Los Angeles. AP writers Trevor Hunnicutt in Oakland and John Rogers in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Popular Stories
Paper Details Obama Admin’s Alleged Secret Note Sent to Iran: If Israel Attacks, We Won’t Get Involved 591 Comments
‘Made Up Religion’: TV Historian Enrages Muslims, Receives Threats After Producing UK Documentary Questioning Islam’s Beginnings 415 Comments
This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 415 Comments
President Obama Issues Major ‘Green Energy’ Executive Order 379 Comments
Roseanne Barr: Most Billionaires ‘Violent Pedophiles’ & ‘Heartless’ Cocaine Addicts 376 Comments
Faith
- This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 415 Comments
Pakistani Muslim Cleric Accused of Framing Disabled Christian Girl in Koran-Burning Case Read More- ‘Made Up Religion’: TV Historian Enrages Muslims, Receives Threats After Producing UK Documentary Questioning Islam’s Beginnings 415 Comments
Meet the Controversial German Imam Accused of Brutally Beating His Wife & Pushing Sharia Law Read More
‘Self-Proclaimed Messiah’ & Unification Church Leader the Rev. Sun Myung Moon Has Died — Here’s His Life Story Read More
Business
- President Obama Issues Major ‘Green Energy’ Executive Order 379 Comments
- Germany’s Upcoming Court Ruling Will be Huge for the EU Read More
Ford Looks to Beat Toyota for Best-Selling Car in 2012 With This Model 151 Comments
Bernanke & QE3: Here’s What You Need to Know 100 Comments- ‘Extortion’: Why Did the Labor Department ‘Drop the Hammer’ on Oregon Farmers? 303 Comments
Technology
- This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 415 Comments
‘TaserDrone’: Hackers Weaponize Quadcopter With Actual ‘Shocking’ Technology Read More
Ever Heard of the Wild ‘Burning Man’ Festival in the Middle of the Nev. Desert? Here’s Your Primer Read More
Stanford Develops Technology ‘Better Than Steroids’ for Athlete Recovery Read More
Have You Pretended to Know What ‘the Cloud’ Is? You’re Not Alone Read More
Submitting your tip... please wait!
Comments (362)
historypaper
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 1:05pmThe new black nation doesnt want justice. In fact, the old black nation never wanted justice. The black nation, contained within America, wants revenge. If you’ve ever been to Oakland you would know what I mean. The poor, under-educated, under-performing, drug-ridden, criminal elements, gang invested roam the streets looking for any reason to break windows, chase white people off their blocks and throw rocks. People speak of West Bank Gaza violence. Go to Oakland on a hot summer night and walk around for one hour by yourself. You will be on the news the next day. The people that work and strive, invest and employee have been forced to live in the hills of Oakland for decades. When black Americans understand that they are Americans that just happen to be black the tensions will be resolved. Until that time, officers are always in danger. Property is being destroyed night after night. Drugs are the economy of Oakland. Go there, see it. Obama should move to Oakland and see the American Black Community that strives for hand-outs, food stamps, free health care and welfare. They always have money for liquor, guns and drugs.
Report Post »New-American-Saviors
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 1:19pmThat is right on the money…Unfortunately OUR Money !
Report Post »New-American-Saviors
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 1:55pmYou’re Right on the money !…Unfortunately it’s Our Money wasted..
Report Post »Okpulot Taha
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 1:03pmOscar Grant served two prison sentences. Oscar Grant appeared in court on felony charges a dozen times over a few years. Oscar Grant, armed with handgun, previously had to be tasered while resisting arrest.
Oscar Grant was a career criminal victimizing society. Was was the value of his life? Zero?
I am curious how many stores were looted for new tennis shoes and bottles of booze this time up in Oakland.
Okpulot Taha
Report Post »Choctaw Nation
13thGenerationAmerican
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 1:07pmExtremely disappointing comment
“I am curious how many stores were looted for new tennis shoes and bottles of booze this time up in Oakland.”
Come on!
Report Post »Okpulot Taha
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 1:16pm13th GENERATION AMERICAN plays political correctness, “Extremely disappointing comment”
Truth is never disappointing but truth sometimes hurts.
A quick glance at history, Watts riots, Rodney King riots, recent riots up in Oakland, riots across history reflect Black America riots not in protest rather as cover for burning, looting, violence and killing. This is truth.
I am an American Indian truth speaker.
Okpulot Taha
Report Post »Choctaw Nation
Jamestown
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 1:46pmStart The Race War NOW…Segregation is the only answer…let black people survive without white earned income…they are gone forever wittin tenyears
Nvrforget
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 2:20pmThe question is however if Oscar Grant deserved to die. I’d say no, he did not do anything that should cost him his life. He served his prison sentences, his debt to society had been paid. He probably wasn’t a good man, but he didn’t deserve to be shot.
Report Post »sean_m.
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 3:19pm@13… yet it’s probably true. Political correctness is a joke especially when you‘re trying to pretend that something isn’t true. I‘m sure someone took advantage of this ’social injustice‘ to get a new pair of ’kicks’. To think otherwise is naive.
Report Post »Agentuntomyself
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 8:57pmDisgusting. Every person has inherent value, no matter what they have done. Sounds to me like the guy was a total thug, and deserved to be locked up, but don’t you think he had a mother, a sister, a father, etc. that loved him? This rioting business is ridiculous and there is no excuse for that, but there is also NO excuse for comments like this one.
Report Post »poverty.sucks
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 9:20pmEvery man has been created with the sense of right and wrong in their hearts. Each man is responsible for the consequences of their choice. Every liberal wants their choice without consequences.
Report Post »Sinista Mace
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 10:14pmI don‘t think you’re qualified to determine the value of any human’s life.
Report Post »Sinista Mace
Posted on November 7, 2010 at 12:04pmTrying to impune the character of the dead man who was killed while facedown and in handcuffs doesn’t work. You sound callous and stupid.
Report Post »AntiCommie
Posted on November 7, 2010 at 3:46pmThey always choose to ‘poop’ in their own nest.
Remember the Rodney King trial – stores had moved into their area to help build up their communities. All these stores were destroyed in the riots – and now the government is, through FinReg, pushing for more high risk investments be made in these communities.
Also remember the fine new apartments built for them that within a few months had garbage piled all the way up the stairways…
Report Post »zagfan
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 1:01pmWhy is the reaction alway the same…
Earthquake, Katrina, O.J., Rodney King, winning a championship game, losing a championship game, someone being killed by the police…
Time to destroy property, steal anything they can get their hands on..not a happy celebration or a candle light prayer vigil…nope…break grab and run. So if you think they were upset about this man being killed I’m afraid you are wrong. They wait for these things to happen so they can go shopping!
I have seen it time after time and the actions do not fit the situations which are all different but the reaction is always the same.
Report Post »JChristopher357
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 2:15pmI couldn’t agree more, well said.
Report Post »Fear The Voices
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 8:50pmDitto!
They cite repeatedly that they have been wronged by something/someone. Sharpton shows up and raises the heat of the situation and lawlessness abounds. You cannot justify a wrong by wrongfully committing more wrongs. Stories like are not limited to only the black communities; it happens to white people too; our reaction to these tragedies are just much different to theirs, so maybe that‘s why it doesn’t make the news. We also don’t have losers like Sharpton stoking the fire either.
Report Post »This is nothing more than a majority of people who have been victimized by their so-called “leaders” and made victims in order for those leaders to become more self-important. They have been told by these poverty pimps so many times that they are victims they have no reason to act as rational, mature, reasonable people. Jackson and Sharpton should be up on charges for inciting riots with every one of these situations that occurs.
Sinista Mace
Posted on November 7, 2010 at 12:03pmYou’re right, the reaction is always the same. Cop gets violent, cop brutalizes, cop gets acquitted or a slap on the wrist.
Report Post »Teh Grate Satan
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:58pmTazer and pistols are not the same weight. Very easy to tell the difference just by weight. This is really a great reason to not fight the police during your arrest! Be nice and kind to the police even when they are mugging you in Kemmerer, Wyoming (True story). Actually it was a state trooper but I digress.
Report Post »mrlogan3
Posted on November 8, 2010 at 11:26amI bet it was an adrenaline, heat of the moment thing, but I still think he needs longer than two years. Yes, it was an accident, but ne that shouldn’t have happened.
Report Post »FIREDUDE
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:53pmThis is the only thing these thugs know!!!!!!! Do what Chris Rock said and all white people move away and these REGGIN will kill each other and we can get our country back!!!!!!!! Was I wrong in seeing the dude from “I hate white people every IOUTA of white people I kill there babies” in that video????
MrButcher
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:41pmCops who kill unarmed citizens and only get 2 years in the lockup is a travisty of justice.
I don‘t blame ’em for being upset. you must realize there is a looong history of white cops and black citizens being treated, um, differently in the courts.
“i thought i was grabbing my tazer” is not an excuse.
he should have got 10 years.
but riotting isn’t the answer either.
Report Post »13thGenerationAmerican
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 1:01pmVoice of reason as usual
Report Post »tower7femacamp
Posted on November 7, 2010 at 7:23amamen to that, that’s how we get Dictatorship
Report Post »1st we use the police and then train them with steroids to
control the Slaves for us.
OneRepublic4us
Posted on November 7, 2010 at 8:14pmThis transit authority worker got two more years than OJ did for killing two white people and what the TA worker did wasn’t even premeditated.
Report Post »Sinista Mace
Posted on November 8, 2010 at 11:16amOJ didn‘t do it because there wasn’t enough proof to prove it, it has nothing to do with this case, and the officer is caught on TAPE executing a man while facedown and handcuffed. You’re comparing apples and biscuits.
Report Post »SnapTie
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:28pmLook where it happened.Fact police are three times more likely to encounter violent than New York City. This city is a ghetto thanks to the new Governor Jerry Brown. More murders of black on black than any city in California. This gives them the right to loot for new Nike’s.
Report Post »TNgirly
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:23pmViolent tea partiers. Oh wait, they weren’t. Even if he did get the max 14 yrs, that wouldn’t have been sufficient enough to stop any rioting.
Report Post »mikenleeds
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:20pmhe should of got 6 years and i think the cop is a liar ,, he said that just to make it look like a accident ,, if i shot someone in the same way i bet id get 20 years because am not one of the good ole boy system
Report Post »WhiteFang
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 4:22pmWho would you call if you needed help due to a crime against you? At that time, when they arrive, will you call them liars?
Report Post »BlueknightUSA
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 5:14pmYep you’re right. That cop got up that morning just a hankerin to kill him a black person. That has to be it right? With all them people around him when he did it what other reason could there be?
Report Post »Ya…and that “good ole boy” network went right to work protectin him didn’t they?
MIKENLEEDS…Winner of the stupid post of the day.
dazyann010501
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 5:36pm@mikenleeds,
Report Post »Wow you know what you are a very selfish, ungrateful person with cops. The cops protect our lives everyday with very little Thanks which they deserve and ya know what sometimes mistakes are made and things happen. If you would have watched the second tape you would have noticed that the cop didn’t do it out of hate, racism, or rage it was an AC-CI-DENT!!! So if you don’t like being protected how about moving to Afghanistan and see how you like the protection there. Better yet you can be the one on the front lines in front of the Soldiers cause they protect us also!!! ;)
jfreak13713
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:18pmWhile I certainly don’t agree with riots and vandalism I also do not agree with the idea that somehow black people always react this way. Furthermore, whites have also attended and participated in violent riots when they feel slighted. The sentence seems fair to me if we assume the shooting was an accident? Of course, nobody but the office and God will ever know if it was an accident. Needless to say that two years in jail and never being allowed to work as a policy officer again seems like reasonable justice based on current information available.
Report Post »wodiej
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 2:10pmWhite people do not typically break out in riots when an injustice has been done.
Report Post »BurntHills
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 2:35pmwhen was America’s last White riot? the 1910s?! when jobs were being lost. since then, haven’t White Americans acted mature and just VOTED and WORKED themselves back to On Their Feet.
Report Post »BurntHills
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 2:42pmlast one was White Americans rioted [against blacks] in 1921, very sad day for Tulsa OK. before that was was 191 when White American men needed jobs which it sounds like they thought they lost to blacks during WW1, Chicago.
sorry if we have missed any article about WHITES rioting about something blacks did between 1921 AND 2010.
Report Post »capnjack
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:17pmThe cop should have been rewarded, just think of how much money he saved taxpayers in welfare payments.
Psychosis
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:22pmthats just wrong
Report Post »sean_m.
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 3:16pmWrong but probably true. Sorry… but it is. PC be damned.
So he breaks the law and gets treated as a martyr and the cop was doing his job and gets sentenced to two years? I‘m sorry for the family’s loss and all but you reap what you sow. He was breaking the law and if he not had been, he’d more than likely still be here right now. Or in prison or jail considering he was breaking the law in the first place. I‘m sorry but why would anyone want to be a cop when doing your job will likely result in you going to prison because someone can use the color of someone’s skin to throw them in prison even if it weren’t a racist act? The cop made a mistake. A stupid one, mind you, but a mistake nonetheless. I’m almost positive that this was not intentional considering he was surrounded by colleagues. Intent has to count for something and people need to stop using racism as a crutch for anything. If you’re a person of color, there‘s always that to fall back on and it’s getting tired. Let the man do his time and never give him a badge again because obviously he doesn‘t deserve it but stop using the ’racist‘ tag on everything that you don’t agree with.
Report Post »WhiteFang
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 4:00pmsean_m., your comment is the best, well thought out and balanced. It is sad that people cannot find a way to actually love one another. If we could do that, policemen would not even be needed.
Report Post »I could quote the Bible here but not many people want to accept its counsel.
dontbotherme
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 5:58pmCan’t believe someone could say what you said. A lot of people were hurt here for whatever reason.. doesn’t matter. Very callous.
Report Post »Agentuntomyself
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 8:45pmYou are truly disgusting.
Report Post »neverending
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:14pmOutrage is only specific to their choosing and I will never understand why outrage is always their answer – seems that is the only thing they know how to do and they certainly do it best. Just absolutely sickening what this country has become and it certainly is intensified because the arrogant sorry sob in the whitehouse feeds it.
Report Post »DMD
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:13pmLook on the bright side one less THUG on the streets of Oakland.
Agentuntomyself
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 8:43pmWow, that’s really bad. He may have been a thug, and he probably deserved to be arrested but he didn’t deserve to die. This was a tragedy all the way around, for both sides.
Report Post »Reagan/Demint.deciple
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:13pmYou know what happend???? After the riot, oscar came back from the grave and gave his blessings to the people that were sticking up for him, whether he knew them or not because after all they did get him a nice new T.V after looting the neighborhood radio shack..
Report Post »vennoye
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:08pmJust a sad story. No winners in this story………….everybody lost. You feel sorry for all of them, even the people who had no part of this who got their property destroyed…….for what……..nothing changed.
Report Post »Reagan/Demint.deciple
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:08pmAnother day at the park.. These idiots look for any reason to loot.. I mean it‘s the rule of law that’s what the Jury gave him.. you can’t have your own way everytime.. you know this is whats wrong with when the goverment takes care of you forever.
Report Post »KL
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:07pmBlack people are never satisfied, all they ever want to do is riot and cause trouble EVERY time something happens that ‘they’ don’t like. Makes me SICK!!
earthbonz
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:43pmKL,
Every sane person recognizes that “some” should proceed your statement about black people. Don’t fall into the trap of those who rely on the fires of hatred being stoked. There are bad people and there are good people. Neither are predisposed by their skin tone.
Report Post »luvamerica
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:56pmI would have to agree with KL 100%.
Report Post »Rn mom
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 6:29pmI know black people who work their a$$es off, scrimp to save for their kids, look for a better future, and do the same things as the rest of the middle class. I also know black people who are haters, lazy, and drug dealers. Same as white people and spanish and muslim and everyone else.
Report Post »I can’t pretend to understand who would dance and praise at the sight of injustice-like the OJ trial. I can’t pretend to care about them or their needs- because with all of our flaws; this is the USA and all of us Americans should strive for justice and freedom for all.
Agentuntomyself
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 8:39pm@earthbonz, Thank you! I am getting tired of some of the stereotyping that is going on here.
Report Post »jim1flyer
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 9:57pmThat‘s one of the worst comments I’ve ever read. It’s people like you that give good people a bad name.
Report Post »Sinista Mace
Posted on November 7, 2010 at 11:56amIt gets worse, this is the classic line of reasoning from police, their supporters, and family members.
Wait until they start making comments about how anybody criticizing the cops MUST have had some type of negative experience with them, and how because they have never had a negative experience with police, then police must be great characters.
Report Post »mrlogan3
Posted on November 8, 2010 at 11:21amAs a young black man I don’t riot, I head to the blaze to discuss injustices. To say black people are never satisfied is wrong. Is anyone satisfied, because I’ve seen a lot of whining on The Blaze from people of all races? Your racism makes me SICK!
Report Post »PATRIOTMAMA
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:06pmI agree with this community. This officer only getting 2 years or less for such an outragious action is deplorable. However, rioting isn’t going to solve anything but raise tensions. I‘ve been taught from childhood that two wrongs don’t make a right. You can‘t tell me that you don’t know the difference between your gun and a taser. He was TRAINED to know the difference and accidental or not he should have received more than 2 years for such a mistake. If it had been vehicular manslaughter he would have gotten more time. I’ve seen it for someone hitting a patch of ice on the highway and causing an accident that killed someone.
Accident or not you are responsible for operating your car, your person and if you’re a cop your weapon and if you take someones life for irresposbilty using it you need to be held responsible.
However, there is NO excuse for rioting in the streets and punishing innocent people and their property because you’re even outraged at the outcome. Where is the next Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr?????
Report Post »BlueknightUSA
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 4:49pmHaving been a cop for almost 30 yrs I think I can speak with some credibility. The fact that when this officer reached for his Taser and pulled his duty weapon instead shows that both weapons were more than likely carried on the same side. BIG mistake. Whether on his part or thru dept policy we just don’t know. It also indicates poor or limited training for you folks who keep hammering the “he was trained in the use of…” line. Properly trained, “muscle memory” should have kicked in and he would have “known” the weapon in his hand was not his Taser. The grip is smaller, it has less weight and it just feels different. The officer holds his share of responsibility but so does his department.
Report Post »As to the rest of you who scream for your pound of flesh from this young officer…put your father, brother, sister, son, whoever in his place and tell me he is not paying the price for what he did. This was tragic for all involved. The Judge did the right thing and I commend him for it.
stacybernardslay
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:04pmI moved out of LA after the King riots. They can have that state.
Report Post »Sickofit
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 11:58amWhere was the outrage when OJ Simpson got off scott free for the murder of his ex wife and her boyfriend?
Report Post »Dan
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:17pmYou know, even though we have talked that subject to death, that aspect wasn’t touched. In the case of OJ, I remember reading postings on Web sites that stated it was considered payback to “the man”. After all the years of biased and racially motivated sentences against blacks, OJ’s sentencing stands as a reprise on all those decisions. So, even though they may know that he got off – it was a payback for all those years. While there is a point that there have been a fair share of biased and racially motivated sentencing in the past (just think about the great white South era), most people know that justice should not be perverted going forward.
So, the race baiters work their way into the crowd and move the rest of the group toward the edges by inciting the rioting. If you keep someone steeped in anger and unforgiveness then you count of them to keep the rage rolling. It’s profitable in keeping people angry.
I’m wondering if the jury that decided the verdict in L.A, was an all white jury or not.
Report Post »EP46
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 4:24pmLet me share a personal experience. I am a white female. On the day the jury announced O J ‘not guilty’ I was sitting at my computer working. I heard loud laughing, hands being clapped, ‘whoops’ and praise to god and all kinds of ‘noise’. I went to find out what was going on and there were 4 – 5 black women who worked in the office shouting, praising god, dancing around, etc yelling O J is Not Guilty. To this day I cannot name the feeling that came over me. It was something I had never experienced and therefore could not put a name to it. Shock and shame at what I was seeing. I returned to my office and did not come out till time to leave for the day. The next day was a celebration also. I will always remember that as one of the strangest and saddest experiences of my life. It did not matter if he was guilty or not, they were only happy that he ‘got off’ and that his White wife got ‘what she deserved’. The true tragedy was to see these people act the way they did. Even as I write of it now so many years later I cannot understand that kind of thinking.
Report Post »Sinista Mace
Posted on November 7, 2010 at 11:53amThere wasn’ty a video of OJ pulling a knife and plunging it into the backs of those victims while they were handcuffed and facedown.
The glove didn’t fit, so they had to acquit.
They acquitted those cops after beating Rodney King within an inch of his life, and just let another cop get away with Murder with only a 2 year sentence, people get 2 years for some petty weed cases, that wasn’t even a slap on the wrist, that was a feather brushed across the forehead, and you idiots still got knocked over by that feather. He didn’t get what he deserved.
Oscar Grant didn’t deserve to be executed.
Jake Wilde
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 11:56amBarbarians, most of them could care less about the kid that perished, they just want to break stuff and act like heathens.
Report Post »drbage
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:18pmThen wait for the Revs and O to come in, wave a magic wand, and give out more money and build new buildings.
Report Post »what4
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 4:50pmTribal mentality runs deep……..
Report Post »Sinista Mace
Posted on November 7, 2010 at 11:49amPolice officers have a tribal mentality. It runs the deepest.
Report Post »mrlogan3
Posted on November 8, 2010 at 11:17amYeah, for sure, no sense of community, just an insatiable appetite for destruction. Watch the video and then say they didn’t care. What happened was messed up!.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZTbJH6BNaU&p=3D21735D44A74892&playnext=1&index=62
Report Post »Gita
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 11:56amNothing new here! Rioting by a bunch of thugs taking advantage of a situation!
Report Post »Taquoshi
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 11:43pmI think it is sad that people who were working hard to make their businesses a success will end up paying for this. Earlier this year, I blew a tire in a pothole and that set me back financially a week or two. So, I can imagine how the people who lost store windows and other things feel.
The other thing is that when crowds riot, they end up with arrests and then people claim police brutality and it gets into an ugly, downward cycle.
Report Post »jbh
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 11:55amJustice or lack of justice goes both ways.
JBH
Report Post »drbage
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:16pmDo you think that Holder DOI(Injustice) will get involved??
Report Post »Psychosis
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 11:52amif you think this is bad, wait till inflation really sets in, or even worse wait till 2012 when the anointed one gets handed a pink slip……………these people will go nuts
Report Post »jbh
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 11:59amPSYCHOSIS:
Excellent point but I will even go a little farther. Budget due June 30th 20 Billion in pension and paying for illegals through the years. Wonder when and how you are going to balance the budget? Welfare maybe.
Report Post »troyvar
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:12pmYou may be correct. Prepare for the worst, PRAY for the best.
Report Post »snowleopard3200 {mix art}
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:19pm@Psychosis
This is just a foretaste of the chaos to come when the Progressives try the final seizing of power, or they respond to us the people of america as we take it back. I also pray the best will come in peace, and civility. Prepare for the worst as Troyvar said.
untameable-kate
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 11:51amI understand the pain and anger of the family, when I first read this story it broke my heart. That said, what benefit to the black community does it do to riot and act like a bunch of lunatics? Does Grant not have any responsibility here? No, he should not have had to die for resisting arrest, but he would not have been hurt if he had obeyed the officers.
Report Post »NickDeringer
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 11:57amIf you accidentally shot some one to death at point blank range do you think you would only get 2 years in jail?
Police are “trained” to use fire arms and are supposed to be professional. Riots are wrong and so is the 2 year sentence.
snowleopard3200 {mix art}
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:17pmThis judge is right in that the shooting is a combination of errors piled upon one another, and the result ended the life of one man, with the devastation of many others across the board. However, the judge based everything on the totality of evidence and of the law, and acted in accordance to these lines of the court system.
These people going on a riot should have been expected. And the rioters should have done it in a manner of peaceful, non-agressive, protest as the law does allow them to do. No One has a right to destroy or steal anothers property or posessions, and it appears at the least, more mayhem has been planned by the group – probably more today will occur.
http://www.artinphoenix.com/gallery/grimm
ME
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:22pmThey are right it is a racist justice system if it had been a dirt bag white man he would still be a cop. The fact that he got anything was just to appease the real racist in this country. Drive through a getto or work in one for a while I have never seen more racist people then the intercity blacks, KKK looks like school boys compared. Call me a liar and I will give you a few address around the country and when you get there look around came back (if you do) and tell me I am wrong:) so many don’t live in the same world and never have a clue and think that its all the same everywhere shallow and ignorant they talk of peace and tranquility and the great elusive equality while they demand preferential treatment.
Report Post »angelia
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:46pm“but he would not have been hurt if he had obeyed the officers.”
Exactly !!!!
Report Post »leftiesaredangerous
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 12:47pmI agree 100% with “NickDeringer”.
Report Post »Dstarr55
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 1:05pmThe actions of the crowd is despicable – to protest violence with violence is insane. I understand the frustration of the family and the community as well but you do not help your cause by rioting when things do not go your way. I feel it was a mistake on the officer’s part as I am not aware of a past that would substantiate he was a racist or a loose cannon. It was a tragic mistake but a mistake none-the-less. People seem to think two years is too little but life behind bars for an cop is hard time.
Report Post »Nvrforget
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 1:21pm@Me
“The fact that he got anything was just to appease the real racist in this country.”
So you think he should have gone free for shooting an unarmed man?
“I have never seen more racist people then the intercity blacks, KKK looks like school boys compared”
Uh-huh. “Them inner-city blacks” do more heinous things to white people than hang them by their neck until dead. Gotcha.
Report Post »youngwitty
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 1:38pmTruth be told they’re not lunatics. They are more constitutional than we are. At least they stick together like that, I wish I knew my city would riot with me over my son being shot falsely.
Report Post »Major Infidel
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 1:59pmIts genetics. Animals acting like animals.
All men are not created equal. We’re just guilted and forced into that theory by the bleeding heart moon-beams.
Barry Da Fraud
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 2:39pmWhy didn’t the blacks riot when a black jury found the butcher/murderer OJ innocent of a violent, animalistic double murder. Racism is a dominate part of blacks, more so than any other race.
Report Post »orkydorky
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 4:22pmI didn’t see all the riots going on when OJ Simpson was let off for killing brutally his white wife and friend!
Report Post »TNT1
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 4:26pmHere comes rev al
Report Post »Kaen
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 4:45pm@ Nickderinger…Unless you have been in that situation, don’t judge. As a medically retired Federal Agent of 16 years, now crippled from an altercation during an arrest, no one has any clue of what happens and how fast it happens and the spilt second reaction time an officer has during an arrest that goes bad. Criminals are criminals are criminals, break the law, face the music, resist…and force MUST be used. Now, I agree that simple resistance does not warrant the use of a firearm however, I can and fully do understand how he could have made the mistake he made. Those “Stun Guns” look, feel, and respond just like a standard firearm. Simple answer…don’t make them like guns, find a different method of delivery. It is completely understandable that he thought that he was drawing and firing the “Stun Gun” when in fact it was his side-arm.
http://thefreeamerica.blogspot.com/
Report Post »Rn mom
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 6:16pmI saw the video- and in the video the victim was on the ground and the officer shot him, after shooting him he had a look of surprise on his face. His explanation of thinking he was tasering the man made sense given the video footage. This was not a case of cold blooded murder. Unfortunately for the victim he decided to resist arrest and was an active participant in the outcome. The cop should serve time for stupidity and reckless endangerment, 2 years is fair.
Report Post »A1955Rosie
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 6:25pmBottom line is people believe they can resist and when it doesn’t work out so well…they can riot. You don’t see them RIOTING when that little boy in Spiderman was shot dead. It’s becomming a way of ANARCHY. Don’t get me wrong, not everyone believes this happens across the board, it doesn’t however I will not excuse consequences of resisting nor revenge to people that had nothing to do with it. AGAIN…IT‘S ANARCHY THAT IS BEING PROMOTED AND I’LL CALL IT AS SUCH.
Report Post »Sinista Mace
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 7:01pmWhat you are seeing is a desperate attempt by the black community, which feels it is under attack by the police, to be recognized and taken seriously, and to affect actual response in regards to the brutality of police.
After all these years, with an extensive history of VIOLENCE towards civilians of ALL COLORS, whether it be black, white, hispanic, muslim, or any other minority, we still have yet to see a real effective legislative response to police brutality, or even a real acknowledgement in the mainstream media about the ridiculously apparent, and painfully obvious in this particular case, reality of police brutality and the overstep of police authority.
Report Post »american christian
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 8:20pmyet again, the black community has to act like a bunch of animals and then wonder why people walk on the other side of the street. There are better ways to be heard.
Report Post »5
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 8:35pmI think they should not have White Officers in ‘The Hood’. Get Black Cops.
Report Post »I almost forgot they’re on the other side. Never mind. Just don’t work there.
Let the people go with NO Cops for awhile and see how that works.
NJConservativeGal
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 9:33pm@A1955Rosie
It seems black on black crime is more acceptable (case in point: gang members shooting an innocent young child) than a white police officer who may have shot the man by mistake. The riots only seem justifiable if it is white on black. I don’t understand their backwards thinking and reaction either. Accidental killing vs violent killing? Go figure…..
Here’s the story in case anyone wants to read up on the young black boy killed by gang members on Halloween night. Warning tho, it is a sad story.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1325917/Boy-aged-5-dressed-Spiderman-Halloween-killed-gangland-shooting.html
Report Post »NEAF
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 11:59pmWhen a “white” killed a black is racism. How do you called a black killed another black?
Report Post »http://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/20/opinion/in-america-blacks-killing-blacks.html
ozz
Posted on November 7, 2010 at 4:52amRACIST?!? Ask the protesters if they would have been out there if he was a white straight male. There is your racism. It is the protesters.
Report Post »tower7femacamp
Posted on November 7, 2010 at 6:17amthe gestapo is alive and well. These cops never get in trouble
Report Post »quietly he will get probation or have his sentence in a cushy
country club prison, any of the Slaves get worse treatment fot
DUI’s, just think of DUI’s that involve a death. They should have burned down
the judges hood not their own. anyone arrested during the femonstration will get a harsher
sentence than the cop.
tower7femacamp
Posted on November 7, 2010 at 6:28amYou guys who think this was ok really need to watch the whole tape
Report Post »http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZTbJH6BNaU&p=3D21735D44A74892&playnext=1&index=62
This Scum cop was going to Tase an unarmed and handcuffed man ???? This is the
reason people hate Masonic secret brother Cops and Judges. We need a law
that forbids Masonic Judges to rule against other Masons.
NJConservativeGal
Posted on November 7, 2010 at 10:36am@NEAF, I read that story of Mr. Jackson’s opinion and I could not agree more. A very poignant line from him was “we are far more threatened by the dope than the rope.” I know black on black crime has been discussed very little in the media and without much positive results have been made. I also like to add he mentioned it is within ourselves to change our behavior. I found myself agreeing with his message to young black Americans. Great article, thanks for sharing.
Report Post »Melvin Spittle
Posted on November 8, 2010 at 11:51amMy son is a friend of Johannes Mehserle. My son stated that Johannes made a mistake based on muscle memory taking over during a stress situation. The problem with Tasers is they have the same feel of a firearm. As it was explained to me, Johannes kept eye contact with Grant while drawing what he thought was his Taser. In my opinion, he should not have been charged in a criminal court. This is a tragedy for both families. It is because the victim is black that facts are viewed through racial filters. Civil court is where this should have been decided, not criminal court. Johannes is suffering immensely now, and for the rest of his life. They paint him as a racist, but those who know him say he is not.
Report Post »