Ex-transit
cop asks court to overturn conviction
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -
A former California transit officer who fatally shot an unarmed man on an
Oakland train platform in 2009 urged an appeals court Wednesday to overturn his
involuntary manslaughter conviction, saying that letting it stand would place
police under an increased threat of prosecution for making mistakes.
Johannes Mehserle, who worked for the
Bay Area Rapid Transit, has long said he mistakenly drew his gun instead of his
Taser when he shot 22-year-old Oscar Grant to death during an early morning
melee on New Year's Day.
The shooting ignited civil unrest after
it was captured on video and images of the white Mehserle shooting the black
Grant in the back were repeatedly broadcast on television and the Internet.
On Wednesday, Mehserle's lawyer Dylan
Schaffer said the shooting was a tragic mistake but not involuntary
manslaughter, as decided by a jury in May 2010 after prosecutors sought a
murder conviction.
Schaffer said such mistakes were
usually resolved with lawsuits, and police officers need protection from
criminal prosecution in such cases if they are to do their jobs properly.
"All he did was make an
error," Schaffer said. "We cannot put them at risk for criminal
sanctions for something that amounted to police error."
The lawyer said Mehserle's conviction
will change policing in California unless the 1st District Court of Appeal
tosses it out.
The three judges on the appellate panel
asked few questions and revealed little about their thoughts on the case. Two
of the judges did note that Mehserle used the Taser earlier that night and that
it was located on the opposite side of his body as the gun.
Schaffer argued that tensions were
boiling over during Mehserle interaction with Grant, clouding the officer's
judgment.
"Officers were terrified people
were carrying guns," Schaffer argued. "Lots of people in the Bay Area
carry guns on New Year's Eve."
Schaffer also argued that the
instructions the judge gave the jury before it began deliberations were flawed.
Mehserle was released from prison in
June after serving half of a two-year sentence. He was in court Wednesday with
his family and declined comment after the hearing.
Assistant Attorney General Gerald
Engler said Mehserle's numerous mistakes and bad decisions that morning
amounted to gross negligence and involuntary manslaughter.
Engler argued that Mehserle had no
business using a Taser in the first place. He said that when Grant was shot, he
was immobilized, with another officer kneeling on his neck, and was complying
with police.
Engler also noted the Taser was in a
separate holster on the opposite side as Mehserle's gun, requiring him to reach
his right hand across his body to get it. Engler said the weapons also look and
operate differently. The safeties have different mechanisms and the weapons are
different colors and shapes.
Taken together, Engler said Mehserle's
"mistakes were so numerous and so great" that the jury properly
concluded he was guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
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