Johannes Mehserle, Ex-BART Cop Convicted of Killing Oscar Grant, Wants His Job Back

By Erin Sherbert Wed., May 9 2012 at 2:12 PM

Would like to be a police officer again

Johannes Mehserle, the former BART cop who spent nearly a year in prison for shooting dead Oscar Grant at BART station in 2009, asked an appeals court today to overturn his conviction so that he can get a job in law enforcement again.

Attorneys representing Mehserle said he should not have been convicted of involuntary manslaughter because all he did was "make an error," and that this prosecution was nothing more than politics.

"This was simply an accident," attorney Michael Rains told KTVU in front of the courthouse today. "In California ... we know that police officers have made this same accident in nine other cases, there have been no other criminal prosecutions. This was an accident, not a crime."

Mehserle was convicted in 2010 for the shooting death of Oscar Grant on New Year's Day in 2009. Mehserle says he didn't mean to shoot Grant, who was unarmed and lying face down on the Fruitvale BART platform when he was killed. Mehserle argued in court that he meant to grab for his Taser, but accidentally pulled out his gun and fired one shot in Grant's back, killing him instantly. The shooting was recorded by other BART passengers, which was used as evidence in his trial.

The emotionally charged trial pitted the black community against local law enforcement, at times provoking violent protests in Oakland. However, a jury finally decided that while Mehserle didn't mean to kill Grant, his actions were grossly negligent and certainly criminal.

The tension between police and the community increased when Mehserle served only 11 months of his two-year sentence, after he was released last year on good behavior.

Although, things could get even more strained if the court grants Mehserle's request, and he eventually is back on the streets, enforcing the law.

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Tags:

BART shooting, Fruitvale BART, Johannes Mehserle, Oscar Grant

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Porky

His @ss is out and he need's to go on somewhere :(

Patrick Smith

the point is he used deadly force on an unarmed man end of story he deserves more ,he is supposed to be the cop and trained to deal with it

Porky

I think he was a crooked cop selling dope by the station and Oscar Grant did not pay up the money to the cops that was covering the dope gang. This may be way he was killed and now this guy has the nerve to wont his job back.

Nope .......and no hope :(

kenlowder

Why didn't this killer have an accident in prison?

catmandu

Didn't know the difference between where his deadly force and his non-deadly force was, eh? Sounds highly qualified to me...

Porky

More like taser force but with out Dirty Harry to instruct him the proper way.

Scott Kozlowski

So this guy MURDERS a man, in cold blood, in front a train full of people and it's an 'error?' The police in California are so incompetent that this same 'error' has taken place nine times?

And he wants to get his job back after serving 11 months of a 2 year sentence FOR KILLING A MAN FOR NO REASON?

What if Oscar Grant had made that same 'error' of pulling a hand gun out and shooting Johannes Mehserle who was on the ground, obviously not being a threat to since one of his buddies is holding him down?Do you think YOU or I would be serving 11 months of a 2 year sentence? Do you think YOU or I would be given a chance to overturn our conviction after the fact?

Why is Mehserle not serving MORE time for KILLING a man for no reason at all?

Lipnox

this guy should be in jail for life.

withak30

Not everyone is lucky enough to have a qualified legal decision as to whether they are too dumb to have a particular job.

Getaclue

Why would BART PD want an employee, who cannot tell the difference between a gun and taser working for them?? It is time for a reality check, Mr Mehserle.