Just in case you’ve forgotten.
And, of course, the cop who murdered Mr. Grant, one Johannes Mehserle, just received the lightest possible sentence: involuntary manslaughter.
Y’know, I’ve been to the range once or twice. I’m no expert, but I make sure I shoot with my carry gun at least once a month. I try for twice a month, but ammunition prices and workload sometimes make that unfeasible. But still. I know where my carry gun is on my belt and I know what it feels like in my hand. I’m just about %100 certain I could never pull it out and not know what was in my hand, even in a high-stress situation, which, contrary to some of the horseshit being floated around the intertubes, this was not.
This was a bunch of cops finishing up restraining a few unarmed kids. That’s it. There’s nothing to indicate that it should have even blipped Mr. Mehserle’s blood pressure, unless he’s some kind of fucking neurotic. His draw is cool, deliberate, and I have a hard time believing that he did anything but exactly what he meant to do.
Anyway, more later. In the meantime, I’d like to propose that Mr. Mehserle defuse the situation in Northern California by shooting himself in the mouth. It seems the only honorable thing to do.
Update: trm49 makes a great point in the comments.
The cop is probably one of the most unassailable figures in a u.s society that pretends to be anti -authoritarian. This case is unique mostly because the cop was brought to trial and the credit for that goes largely to the Bay Area folks who took to the streets and caused hella disruption over the murder. The Bay Area is probably one of the very few places in the u.s where rallying people against police violence is even remotely possible. Had this happened in other areas of the states it would have rallied about a dozen folks while the shooting would have been dismissed as a justifiable shooting.
To put the high regard cops are held in perspective, consider this. Obama is able to criticize members of congress, the supreme court, wall street & oil execs and even fire a 4 star general. Granted, their is some blowback over this criticism but nothing like when he criticized the Boston beat cop for harassing Prof Gates. Obama even had to make amends by inviting the guy out for a beer while the cop refused to apologize. This when Obama was still popular and fresh from his election victory.
Update II: I’ll have a post later today or tomorrow about exactly why I find it so unlikely that Mehserle accidentally pulled the wrong weapon based on my own concealed carry experience. Admittedly, I haven’t been seriously at this gun stuff for long, and I’m no expert, but I’m finding the whole concept more and more absurd as I dig into it.
The cop is probably one of the most unassailable figures in a u.s society that pretends to be anti -authoritarian. This case is unique mostly because the cop was brought to trial and the credit for that goes largely to the Bay Area folks who took to the streets and caused hella disruption over the murder. The Bay Area is probably one of the very few places in the u.s where rallying people against police violence is even remotely possible. Had this happened in other areas of the states it would have rallied about a dozen folks while the shooting would have been dismissed as a justifiable shooting.
To put the high regard cops are held in perspective, consider this. Obama is able to criticize members of congress, the supreme court, wall street & oil execs and even fire a 4 star general. Granted, their is some blowback over this criticism but nothing like when he criticized the Boston beat cop for harassing Prof Gates. Obama even had to make amends by inviting the guy out for a beer while the cop refused to apologize. This when Obama was still popular and fresh from his election victory.
Thanks, trm49. That’s one of the best comparisons I’ve ever seen in my life. Hands down.
We’ve seen where cops have killed children, such as Aiyan Jones in Detroit, and have not been charged. We’ve also seen the acquital of cops videotaped shooting unarmed military men, Elio Carrion, just arrived back from Iraq. It seems there aren’t many instances in which a cop would be convicted of a murder.
Despite the cop not getting convicted of murder, here’s a sobering quote from John Burris, the attorney of Grant’s family regarding the involuntary manslaughter conviction:
“In my long history being involved in police matters since 1979 and well over 30 homicides with police, never have I had a case when a police officer was convicted of any crime against an African American male.”
(http://colorlines.com/archives/2010/07/oscar_grant_verdict_whats_inside_the_jurys_ruling.html)
I hear you both. It’s groundbreaking, and only due to a lot of folks’ hard work and organizing, but fuck. I mean, it was groundbreaking when the first white guy was convicted of raping a black woman — and as I recall that wasn’t too long ago, either — but it’s still disgusting.
I guess the lesson is that only in a system this rotten, where pig murder of black people is endemic, can any type of criminal conviction be considered groundbreaking.
“And, of course, the cop who murdered Mr. Grant, one Johannes Mehserle, just received the lightest possible sentence: involuntary manslaughter.”
the legal definition of murder is killing with intent. to get a murder conviction, the prosecutor would have to show that mehserle intended to kill grant. that seems like a pretty hard case to make, assuming mehserle’s record is clean (no history of bad shootings, brutality complaints, racism, etc).
i think this was probably the correct verdict from a legal standpoint.
that said, his defense that he thought he was pulling out his taser leads one to wonder, why did he think he needed his taser? grant was restrained, there were plenty of police around, the situation seemed to be under control. mehserle’s story also shows gross incompetence on his part, which you’ve addressed.
i suspect his manslaughter sentence (4 years) to have additional penalties in light of these considerations.
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It looks like murder to me, will. I’ll have more tomorrow. I’m a bit of a gun nut, and the Taser excuse doesn’t hold water.
Have y’all forgotten about all the “danger” inherent to police work? I mean, really, it’s only 8 places below garbage collector in terms of hazardous occupations.
So, Will, when your friendly neighborhood Allied Waste guy has himself a bad day and compensates by opening .44 cal. hole in your thorax, may we assume that you’ll consider it “legally correct” to convict him only of, say, “menacing”?
All of which is to say, you’re right, Ben. The Taser excuse doesn’t even come close to washing.
To be clear, I’d only say this is groundbreaking in that the cop got convicted of anything, not in the sense that it heralds a new day of justice for those who are victimized by cop violence. This is more an aberration than anything else.
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Any cop who can’t draw the appropriate weapon (and tell the difference by color, weight, and location) is flat-out incompetent.
What’s even more telling is that he refused to talk to BART’s IA folks, and resigned 5 days folks.
Sadly, he got a pass – and then some.
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