Alleged BART Shooting Officer Arrested on Fugitive Warrant in Nevada

Johannes Mehserle, the 27-year-old BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) police officer that was captured on video shooting an unarmed and prostrate black man in the back at a BART station in Oakland, California, early New Year's Day, was arrested in Nevada on Tuesday (January 13). Mehserle, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, was in police custody in Douglas County, Nevada, after being arrested on a fugitive warrant issued in the state of California. The Alameda County District Attorney's office confirmed the arrest and that they had been informed Tuesday night.

Twelve days prior to Mehserle's arrest, during a confrontation with 22-year-old Oscar Grant, Mehserle and another Bart officer had restrained Grant on a BART platform after questioning him about fighting. Johannes Mehserle was captured on video rising up from a facedown Oscar Grant, pulling his pistol, a shooting into the back of Grant as he was being held down by another BART officer.

Two videos of the BART shooting, captured on cell phones, quickly made it to the internet and went viral. Mehserle, who had already been placed on paid leave, resigned from the BART police force, refusing to speak to investigators about the shooting.

Relations between Oakland residents and Oakland authorities became strained. Outraged that an unarmed man had been shot and the man allegedly responsible for his death had yet to be questioned only made matters worse. Phrases such as "excessive force," "unnecessary force," "execution," and "police brutality" became common. Seething racial tensions in Oakland, for Oscar Grant was black and Johannes Mehserle white, quickly came to the fore. There were public demands for justice. Demonstrations were held. One peaceful demonstration on Wednesday, January 7, soon became disruptive and violent, resulting in at least 105 arrests and 300 businesses being damaged. Images of burning cars, police dressed in riot gear hustling people away off-camera, and people jumping on vehicles (including one individual jumping up and down on a police car) were captured on video.

The images of the rioting became the top news story while the event that sparked the initial protests and demonstrations receded in newsworthy importance. But as things calmed down in Oakland, the airing of the unrest and the BART shooting in juxtaposition became common. Accusations of injustice, cries of outrage, and voices of protest became even more pronounced.

Public knowledge of the BART shooting via internet video and constant replay on television produced an awareness of the incident that leaves many wondering why Johannes Mehserle was not detained or arrested long before his Nevada arrest. Why he was not arrested and questioned on suspicion of aggravated manslaughter or murder are questions that seem to have no clear or simple answers. And why was Johannes Mehserle in a position to where he was able to go to Nevada twelve days after shooting a man, regardless of the circumstances of that shooting?

Given the video evidence and the eyewitness accounts from people on the BART platform at the time of the shooting incident, the most obvious question would have to be: Why was Johannes Mehserle permitted to go so long without a formal interrogation by investigators and without being charged with suspicion of malicious wounding or at least negligent manslaughter? How is it that Alameda County officials allowed the situation between the public and the police, historically a tense and suspicious coexistence, to escalate to the point of a riot?

Simpy put: The detention and questioning of Johannes Mehserle in the BART shooting death of Oscar Grant would have gone a long way in reducing the tension in Oakland. If Mehserle had refused to cooperate and/or had retained counsel, a subsequent arrest for obstructing justice or a public press conference addressing the entire matter and what legal issues were involved would have circumvented much of the outrage and, later, the public displays of frustration and anger through violence.

But that is useless "what if" conjecture and the public has been left with far more questions than answers in the death of Oscar Grant and subsequent actions and inactions by Oakland, BART, and Alameda County authorities.

Oscar Grant's family has filed a $25 million lawsuit against Bay Area Rapid Transit.

California state Attorney General Jerry Brown appointed a special prosecutor to oversee the case. The U.S. Department of Justice has also become involved, sending special mediators to ensure that violence does not erupt again.

Lake Tahoe is located in Douglas County, Nevada.

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More details on the BART shooting: "BART Shooting Video Results in Riots, Arrests, Death Threats Against Officer."

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Sources:

San Francisco Chronicle

Associated Press