Mehserle

[McCrackhd]

I recently read the article in the last issue of APB written by Johannes Mehserle's attorney. I was shocked at the railroading that the city of Oakland performed. What happened to supporting your emplyoees?? Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that Mehserle didn't screw up. What I am saying though, is that the city of Oakland went on a witch hunt and apparently cared more about furthering their own careers than they did about ruining the career and life of an employee's.

[lewisipso]

Sadly departments can turn into self preservation mode when things look bad. Public perception and opinion have a lot of influence on departments when it comes to making decisions.

[keith720]

Officer Mehserle is a sacrificial lamb put out to slaughter to soothe a segment of their society. In my opinion, justice had very little to do with the ultimate decision in this case.

[MacLean]

I'll take the devils advocate position here...

How would you have liked to see this have gone?

[lewisipso]

I'm not exactly sure what the railroading is the OP is referring to. Perhaps I should re read the article. A man's life was taken. Given the circumstances I am familiar with there may not have been any other conclusion to this case. Mehserle did not have intent to do what he did but I was kind of doubtful he was just walking away from this no matter what a persons view point of the case was.
On the other side. I see how some departments simply abandon an officer when things look and are possibly going bad. In this case would it have been wrong to not support the incident outcome but the officer himself? I do not think so. The department was more than likely looking at being involved in the case for things such as failure to train etc, and just wanted to distance themselves from the officer. Departments submit to public outrage and opinion all the time. Call me wrong but I do not see a difference in supporting Mehserle and supporting your own child had they done something believed criminal in nature. You may not support what they have done but I see no need to abandon the officer.
Mehserle is remorseful in what he did and has stated as much and he fully believed he was deploying his Taser. I would have no problem publicly supporting him and the family for that matter, in their time of need and simply allowing the court process to run it's course. Hopefully all parties can accept the ultimate outcome of this case with whatever grace that can be mustered. There is always appeal. Btw this is just my personal opinion.

[HudsonHawk]

I recently read the article in the last issue of APB written by Johannes Mehserle's attorney. I was shocked at the railroading that the city of Oakland performed. What happened to supporting your emplyoees?? Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that Mehserle didn't screw up. What I am saying though, is that the city of Oakland went on a witch hunt and apparently cared more about furthering their own careers than they did about ruining the career and life of an employee's.

I think that the prosecution was overzealous in the murder indictment. Even so, it was clear to me that Mehserle's negligence caused Grant's death. I have sympathy for Mehserle, but I think that he was guilty of involuntary manslaughter. The judge didn't appear to railroad him either, as he was given the minimum sentence of two years.

[McCrackhd]

Unless I used the word "railroading" improperly (I apologize if I did), I was refering to the prosecuter's office claiming that the shooting was racially motivated. Like I said, I'm not saying that he didn't mess up-big time-I'm just saying why add fuel to the fire. There was no reason to even bring race into the discussion other than to appease minority voters.

[McCrackhd]

The judge, I agree, seemed to act rationally. I'm refering to the DA's office and how they handled the situation.

[McCrackhd]

It seems that some people are misunderstanding my point. I, in no way, am saying that Mehserle did not do something wrong and shouldn't be punished. But what I am saying is that the people in charge of the prosecution should not have tried to make it sound like a racial criime. Also, I found it disturbing at how Mehserle's lawyer seemed to be handcuffed as to what he was allowed to release to the public, while the victim's lawyer was able to go on tv and try to make Mehserle into a Klansman (metaphorically speaking). There were just several things about this trial that seemed slanted against Mehserle from the start. Again, he screwed up and should have been punished, I just feel the DA's office did not handle the situation properly.

[MacLean]

I gotcha, and appreciate the explanation.

As a firearms guy, I got caught up in the "error" and paid little attention to the grandstanding by the DA.

[Xiphos]

It's my understanding that there have been several accidental uses of a firearm when officers thought they were deploying a Taser under stress. They have all resulted in exoneration of the officer including keeping their jobs.

I think Mehserle hurt himself when he quit and refused to cooperate with the administrative investigation. Couple that with the strong political situation and he was pretty well doomed from the get go. All that considered I think it's a miracle he got as little time as he did.

I would have liked to see Mehserle cooperate, explain himself, and eventually be cleared of any wrong doing. Considering the devices and training were new, and he had the Taser so close to his firearm, I don't think it was totally unreasonable that he screwed up under stress. Unfortunate, but not criminal. Especially if there is precedent of that. By quitting and running away he made himself look guilty of something, and the politicians supplied that.

[keith720]

I think Mehserle hurt himself when he quit and refused to cooperate with the administrative investigation. Couple that with the strong political situation and he was pretty well doomed from the get go. .... By quitting and running away he made himself look guilty of something, and the politicians supplied that.

It was indeed a vary unfortunate situation from the start and his actions afterwards certainly didn't help his situation. I wonder who was advising him not to be forthright? I know from personal experience ,that all too often, people who have an agenda give advice that is contrary to the best interests of the individual and suits the needs of their group or organization.