has anyone heard about this?

if not this is not about race at all. this is about people who think they have power taking advantage of those who do not. i do not care if you are white or black or fricking purple, we as citizens need to speak as if we are united because this type of crap can not be tolerated.

what they say in that movie V for Vendetta? "the people should not be scared of the government, the government should be scared of its people"

this is plain and simple murder

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmJukcFzEX4

 

Protesters have begun throwing M-1000 fireworks at law enforcement
officers and other demonstrators in downtown Oakland tonight, Alameda County
sheriff's Sgt. J.D. Nelson said.
"At this point there's people that are certainly acting up, and
we're doing our best to take them into custody," Nelson said shortly after
9:30 p.m.
He said authorities have begun arresting protesters.
"There's been one arrest as of half an hour ago, but I know
they're loading up the bus with more," he said.
The crowd began gathering downtown this evening to protest the
verdict in the Johannes Mehserle trial.
Concerns about protesters growing violent in a demonstration over what they called a bad verdict in the Mehserle trial prompted police from throughout the area to block the protesters in and keep others from entering.

Police set up a blocks-wide corridor near Broadway and 14th Street in Oakland. Closer to the protests, they were suited in full riot gear; those manning the perimeter weren't wearing body armor, but were forceful in turning onlookers -- and potential additions to the protest -- away.




Johannes Mehserle has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, it was announced in the Los Angeles Country Superior Court shortly after 4 p.m. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 6.

Fourteen firefighters from the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department and two Pleasanton police sergeants left for emergency duty at a staging area in San Leandro while the new fire chief, Jim Miguel, was being sworn in. Chief Miguel wished them well as they left.

In anticipation of the verdict, Pleasanton police are back to 12-hour shifts instead of 10, officials said.

BART officials were asking passengers -- especially those riding near the downtown San Francisco and downtown Oakland stations -- to be patient with service because the trains have been full since before 3 p.m. as a result of the Mehserle verdict.

"All of our trains are on time; however, they are very packed with passengers," BART spokesman Linton Johnson said.

Noah Klein was one of the passengers trying to get on a train at the 12th Street/Oakland City Center station.

Klein works in the Elihu M. Harris State Building in downtown Oakland, and was told to go home early after word came in that a verdict had been reached.

"It was a mob almost," he said. "It wasn't rushing or angry or trying to push, but everyone was trying to make their way down to a train."

"Everybody's pretty calm, just a little concerned," he said.

BART reported at 6 p.m. that the Alameda County Sheriff had requested that BART close the City Center entrances to 12th Street Station in Oakland.

BART Board President James Fang issued a statement this evening in response to the involuntary manslaughter conviction of former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle.

Fang said BART officials continue to deeply regret the shooting death of unarmed passenger Oscar Grant III on the platform of the Fruitvale
station in Oakland early on New Year's Day 2009.

"A young man lost his life because of the actions of a former BART police officer. It is a heartbreaking fact that no one can change that sad day," he said.

Fang said "the tragedy has served as a catalyst to change the future of BART" and the agency's Police Department in particular.

He said that, along with hiring an independent firm to analyze the areas that need improvement in the department, the agency is also on the
verge of implementing independent oversight of the police force - the result of a new bill that still needs to be signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

He said BART has accepted responsibility for the shooting. In a civil case, a federal judge helped mediate a $1.5 million settlement to
provide for Grant's 6-year-old daughter Tatiana.

Fang said he hopes the response to today's verdict won't hurt the Bay Area.

"Oakland -- indeed the whole Bay Area -- is one of the best places to live in the entire world," he said. "We must not let the initial emotional
reaction of the verdict have long-lasting negative effects on the place we call home."

Today was the jury's first full day of deliberations after they suspended talks yesterday because a juror had a doctor's appointment.

The approaching verdict in the trial of former BART police Officer Mehserle has had communities and businesses on edge for days. Mehserle, 28, was charged with murder for the shooting death of unarmed passenger Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old Hayward man, on the platform of the Fruitvale station in Oakland shortly early on New Year's Day 2009.

In Oakland, some businesses have boarded up their windows, although recently most stores downtown appeared to be open for business as usual.

Bay Area police and community leaders including those in the Tri-Valley were also anxiously awaiting the verdict, hoping for calm when the jury's decision is announced.

In the Tri-Valley, local agencies were making sure they're prepared for any civil unrest following the announcement of the verdict. BART was providing guidance and information to its ridership in the event problems occur at any BART stations, including the Dublin/Pleasanton station. Dublin Mayor Tim Sbranti also said that his city is prepared in the event of any local unrest.

"While it is not anticipated that civil unrest will occur in Dublin, the city's police and fire Services have planned and prepared for this possibility and are coordinating with public safety agencies throughout the Bay Area for mutual aid requests, should it be necessary," Sbranti said.

Police in Pleasanton were deciding their actions on a day-to-day basis. The department went to 12-hour shifts with no days off and sent officers home if the jury left for the day without a verdict, a spokesman said.

Pleasanton police are also ready to head to Oakland "as soon as the mutual aid button is pushed," said Lt. Mike Elerick.

He said the department went to 12-hour shifts last week in anticipation of a jury verdict in the trial and possible unrest that could lead to a call for aid from outlying law enforcement districts.

Two Subway sandwich shops in downtown Oakland illustrate businesses' different approaches. One, at 1312 Broadway isn't boarded up even though it's very close to the intersection of 14th Street and Broadway, where several groups have said they will hold rallies after the verdict is announced.

A Subway restaurant at 14th and Madison streets, six blocks away, is boarded up but remains open. It's on the ground-floor level of a condominium complex at that site.

At the intersection of 13th Street and Broadway, a T-Mobile cell phone store and a Burger King restaurant are both boarded up but open for business.

All of the businesses at City Center Plaza, bounded by Broadway and Clay Street and 12th and 14th streets, are open for business today including Starbucks and Quiznos; the only business that's boarded up there is a Patelco Credit Union branch bank.

Crews were setting up a bandstand in the middle of the plaza this morning for the Joe Bagale Soul band to perform at noon as part of Oakland's "Summer Sounds" series.

But on 17th Street between Franklin and Webster streets, which was hit by violence in protests in January 2009, a number of businesses are boarded up, including a Mexican restaurant, a Japanese restaurant, a smoothie shop and two coffee shops.

The People's Choice Printing shop at 1525 Webster St. has numerous small posters that state "Justice For Oscar Grant" and one large poster of Grant.

A light pole at the corner of 14th and Jackson streets has a small poster with a photo of Oscar Grant with the message "We Don't Forget," as well as a small poster with a photo of Mehserle that states "We Don't Forgive."

http://www.pleasantonweekly.com/news...ry.php?id=4548

 

i pray that this does not go over-looked

 

Isn't the first time something like this happened....won't be the last....don't think this thread would turn out well if I said everything I wanted to about situations like this....

Joe

 

Hi Sliver1,
It's another sad story in our World...There are to many 4-Sure.
I pray that justice prevails, and that the issues like this in our country, in our world can be resolved `peacefully.

Yes, I am a `dreamer...History keeps repeating itself : (
The police are public servants, but we get what we pay for...Some are not prepared or competent to serve , but
many officer's risk their life's everyday in defense of the public....It's a very dangerous `job in 2days world : (

We must get involved in our communities `if we want it to be better for `all ~> 4-Sure....

What are you doing to make it better ? (I ask myself ?)

 

I just heard on the news, he's most likely looking at 4 years in jail.

Joe, you should be able to give out your opinions whether they're here or in another place. As adults we should be able to hear both sides of a story and be opinionated, again.. we 'should'.

 

please joe, you have every right to speak what you may. like the other jo said, we can be adults about this and conversate can we not?

kidspace, i can also view the other side where being an officer of the law is a stressful job. i know this has to be. i remember hearing stories about oakland officers being told that certain parts of the town are off limits to them. OFF LIMITS. thats crazy! the sergeant would tell them if you get a call, do not go. you will not make it out alive. i dont know how much truth the story holds but i can see that being true somewhat. the streets are armed to the teeth in areas that it would take military presence to match the arsenal. remember the bank robbing in LA?

 

As i can see what Joe is saying, this stuff happens more often than what we hear about.
But since this is a white vs black crime that is being scrutinize to the smallest specs of race.. where this is truth or not is not the point.
Someone's life was lost and there needs to be justice served.
I can't really believe the fact that he pulled out his hand gun thinking it was his tazer -_-'

 

it is sad but the truth is racism is very much alive. i cant stand when people pull the race card for any reason. to me, this is not about race. this is about someone who is supposed to uphold the law and set an example as a protecter yet for whatever reason executed an unarmed man on his stomache.

 

How many of you heard about my friend Clint Mason?

Clint was first tazered by the Denver cops in march of this year. THEN.... had 5 bulletts pumped in to him while he was on the ground by another Denver cop. I guess 50,000 volts of electricity wasn't enough? They had to use deadly force to "Make Sure" Clint wouldn't get back up.

What really irritates me, is the cops "Officially" looked in to the incident themselves.

Sorry. But I do not see how justice can be done when a group investigates an incident that involves their own.

Meanwhile, my friend is dead and his kids are fatherless. Did they get any money out of this??????