Jurors in Los Angeles today found ex-Bay Area Rapid Transit Officer Johannes Mehserle, 28, guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
He faced second-degree murder charges in the death of 22-year-old Oscar Grant, who was shot last January in Oakland. The case – a white police officer accused of shooting an unarmed black man – sparked racial tensions and riots in Oakland, and was moved to Los Angeles to avoid the intense scrutiny.
Mehserle had claimed he accidentally grabbed his gun instead of his Taser.
The sentence dismayed many of Grant’s supporters, who saw it as a slap on the wrist compared to the murder charges.
“This is not an involuntary manslaughter case,’’ attorney John Burris told reporters outside the Criminal Courts Building. “This is a true compromise verdict that does not truly and accurately reflect the facts, and we are extraordinarily disappointed at that. We do believe that this was a murder case, a second-degree murder, and we are surprised that the jury came back as quickly as they did and seemed to be very dismissive of the murder charge and the voluntary manslaughter.”
In his summation, Mehserle’s lawyer, Michael L. Rains, said the case left room for reasonable doubt: “There’s nothing that suggests an intent to kill—nothing.”
Involuntary manslaughter carries a two to four year prison sentence. Mehserle was also found to have personally used a handgun in the commission of a crime, which could lengthen his sentence.
Members of the L.A. Coalition for Justice for Oscar Grant will gather in Leimert Park at 5 p.m. to discuss the verdict. Both Oakland and Los Angeles have braced for public reactions to the decision.
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