Comments on: Looking at Johannes Mehserle’s defense from the vantage point of an amateur gun nut

By: Ben

Ben — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 18:30:38 +0000

All the stuff I say above has links to the sources I drew the information from. Feel free to post links to what you’re claiming is incorrect.

By: SSN708

SSN708 — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 05:15:07 +0000

There is a lot of mistaken info here. Mehserle, from what I have been able to find, carried the M26 taser, not the X26. There is quite a difference between the two. Mehserle did NOT have his taser on his left side, he had it on his right, the same side as his gun. There are plenty of videos that show when he had it drawn, and he holstered it on his right. BART had only just received their tasers, and had no policy to cross-draw, as most departments do. Mehserle did not “inquire” about Grant’s condition because Mehserle was performing first aid until Paramedics arrived, and yes, he was crying and near hysterics (again, videos clearly show this).As regards the thumb strap, this is further proof that he thought he was drawing his taser. Video clearly shows him tug and tug at the weapon(he was kneeling and figured it was stuck). Had he intended to draw his gun, he would have unhooked the thumb safety, not tugged repeatedly expecting something to be drawn. As far as your analogies, how many times have you had to draw your weapon in a real life situation? It is impossible to tell what you would do. Of course you would not draw your car keys when you meant to draw your gun, you don’t carry your keys on a holster next to your gun. Your keys do not have a black rubberized handle shaped like a gun handle. You were partially right on your statement that police intending to draw their taser and accidentally shooting the suspect did not happen 6 times. In reality, it happened 8 times prior to Grant that I am aware of. And the news story had it 100% wrong, if he indeed had the M26 it is BLACK with a black rubberized handle, and he DID in fact have it on his right hand side, not his left as shown in video of the incident.

By: Kick Him, Honey » Blog Archive » Oscar Grant’s uncle reacts to sentencing

Sat, 06 Nov 2010 13:25:41 +0000

[...] what I wrote a couple of months ago about Mehserle’s horseshit defense. [...]

By: chp

chp — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 02:38:03 +0000

oh, related to the author ID who posted Grant’s photo above – look at this story about what happened to him when he showed up with his freelance press pass to photograph a tuition protest at the local college. The UC police after a vandalism event and arrested onlookers, as the culprit fled 5 minutes ago. They literally accused them of terrorism, under political pressure. School police expect an easier job, and mainly evict the homeless and write alcohol tickets. One of their staff was awake and spotted Philip Garrido, who had aroused nobody else’s suspicions for years.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/04/20/18645234.php

By: chp

chp — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 01:05:35 +0000

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/06/09/18650265.php#18652284

By: chp

chp — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 01:00:50 +0000

oh yes – maybe you caught that Oscar Grant was sitting on the platform calling his fiance that he was being detained. Then he turned on the camera phone and sent her a photo of Mehserle with his taser out, before Mehserle put the taser back in the left holder and ordered Grant to lie down. The photo he took of Mehserle is online. Next, his partner Pirone may have excited him by calling Grant a nigger twice, then you can see in the video that he pulled the gun out (right side) when not much was happening, but he told a nearby coworker that he thought he had been reaching for something in his waistband. My interpretation is that he was an easily startled, poorly trained TSA agent type. It wouldn’t make sense to tase someone in that situation where he was lying on his face and hadn’t been struggling. It would only make sense to shoot rather than tase if he thought someone was reaching for a gun.

By: chp

chp — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:50:37 +0000

Look at what you can do with a long zoom perspective camera angle (like photos that show an enormous moon next to a nearby building). This seems like a movie: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=7545188

By: Pork Smoker

Pork Smoker — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:43:31 +0000

Good point, Driver.

By: Daily Driver

Daily Driver — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:38:41 +0000

WHAT “expressway travel speeds,” Porker?

My experience is that every expressway in the country is perpetually lined with orange barrels. Which means that the posted travel speed is roughly the same as that on an in-town thoroughfare.

Such “construction zone” speed limits—and “fines double for speeding” penalties—are typically maintained 24-7 even though workers are usually present about 10-12 hours per day, 6 days a week, at most.

By: Pork Smoker

Pork Smoker — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:17:57 +0000

The speed limits “make sense,” Ian?

Really?

Care to explain the basis upon which you arrived at that rather interesting conclusion?

I’d be especially interested in any data you’re relying on that suggests a net gain in “public safety” resulting from enforcing certain limits on expressway travel speed — say, 65 vs. 75 mph, or 75 vs. 85 mph — rather than merely a hefty increase in state revenues.