Man shot and killed by BART policeman – watch the video and make your own judgment

January 6, 2009 · Posted in People in the news, Social Issues, Society, Things to think about 

Let me be the first to say, or at least the first in this post to say that Police are under enormous stress. While the Bar Area Rapid Transit (BART) officers were arresting Oscar Grant people were coming up from all directions and distracting the police. This interfered with their performance and could have possibly been a cause in the incident. Therefore, I am not casting blame, but rather offering up the video for you to judge for yourself.

In the video above you will see BART Officer Johannes Mehserle Shooting Oscar Grant in the back. Officer Mehserle has only been on the force for two years, and after the shot you can see his is visibly shaken as are the other officers. I do not believe Officer Mehserle was trying to kill Oscar Grant. However, if Oscar Grant was my son I can assure you my feelings would be radically altered. It would be very difficult to take my emotions out of the case and evaluate the situation as an accident. Either way it is clearly a tragic incident, and I HOPE all of the bystanders who interfered, the officers and anyone who finds themselves in Oscar Grant’s position will watch the video and learn something from the horrible accident.

*****Update****** – Officer Johannes Mehserle has resigned effective immediately. Speculation is this will prevent an Internal Affairs investigation.

*****Update****** 01/13/09 – Officer Johannes Mehserle charged with murder – http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090114/ap_on_re_us/train_station_shooting;_ylt=Askauk0iRXODKP5Vy2J2.9is0NUE

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Comments

5 Responses to “Man shot and killed by BART policeman – watch the video and make your own judgment”

  1. Oakleaf Mold on January 7th, 2009 7:02 am

    Cops have a tough job–I wouldn’t want to do what they do–but as for this being an “accident,” the officer stands, casually draws his weapon, and fires into the victim’s back. HIS BACK. There is no struggle. Indeed, the officer appears quite calm and unhurried. I just don’t get it, nor do I understand why he isn’t behind bars. Surely, the DA sees the same film we see, yet the officer is on PAID LEAVE? Amazing. Police misconduct and unnecessary violence is a regular, recurring theme in America, and has much to do with the paramilitary training officers receive–they are not taught to protect and serve, but to regard every “civilian” as a potential threat. Equally distressing is the perceived lack of consequences for police offenders. Police must be held to a higher conduct of behavior, and the punishments accorded to them must be swift and reflective not only of the offense, but of their breaching the trust we the people place in them.

  2. they on January 7th, 2009 8:18 am

    I hear you Oakleaf, but the flip side of the coin is this. Last night in Dallas a Police officer with 18 yrs experience was delivering a warrant to a man in an apartment. You have to imagine this was fairly routine for an 18 year veteran, and his guard was not on high alert. When he knocked on the door and announced he was a police officer the person inside the door shot several times and killed him. Being a Police officer is a tough job, and the stress must be amazing. That is why I called it an “accident”, because I just can not believe it was intentional, stupid, reckless, and a whole slew of other words, but not intentional.

  3. we on January 12th, 2009 6:57 pm

    Look, in all areas of life there are trade-offs. We have to ask ourselves, would you rather have police protection for society – knowing that 1/100 or 1/1,000 or in whatever the ratio is – a police officer will make a mistake and kill someone or not have police protection at all????

    I will take my chances……it is like winning an inverted lottery – if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time there is a small chance something bad will happen to you from the police (slightly higher if you are a minority, admittedly)…..but for the most part we are far better off for having them than for not having them.

    The videos when police make mistakes are always top stories, the videos when police (thousands of times a day nationwide) do good things are nowhere to be found…..gee….where is all the adulation for those videos?????

  4. they on January 12th, 2009 8:11 pm

    Absolutely, you are correct, I doubt anyone will argue the point. The police provide a valuable service and we are all grateful for their efforts. Unfortunately, as with most people’s lives and livelihoods it is not the normal and routine things they do that attract attention, but rather the unusual happenings that make the news.

  5. they on January 14th, 2009 3:26 pm

    FYI – Officer Johannes Mehserle charged with murder by the State of California. What a truly sad event. As some of the comments have clearly stated, it is a tragedy, and I hope we never see anything like this again. Accident or not, it is a tragedy.

    01/13/09 – Officer Johannes Mehserle charged with murder – http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090114/ap_on_re_us/train_station_shooting;_ylt=Askauk0iRXODKP5Vy2J2.9is0NUE

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