Topic: Michael Rains
BART Police Shooting, Cops & Courts »
(7/8) — UPDATED 19:31 PDT — LOS ANGELES — Johannes Mehserle, the former BART Police Officer who shot and killed unarmed passenger Oscar Grant on January 1, 2009 at the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland, has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter by a Los Angeles jury.
The jury found Mehserle not guilty of the most serious charge he faced: murder. The verdict means Mehserle will face from five to 14 years in state prison for Grant’s death.
BART Police Shooting, Cops & Courts »
(7/7) — UPDATED 18:45 PDT — LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles jury restarted deliberations in the murder trial of former BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle Wednesday morning, but ended discussions at 11:45 a.m. because of a juror’s afternoon doctor’s appointment.
Deliberations struck a brief hiatus Tuesday when one of the jurors fell ill, canceling what was to be the first full day of reviewing evidence in the murder trial.
BART Police Shooting, Cops & Courts »
(7/2) — UPDATED 16:40 PDT — LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles jury will now consider whether former BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle, who fired a single, fatal shot into the back of an unarmed Oscar Grant, is guilty of murder, manslaughter or no crime at all.
BART Police Shooting, Cops & Courts »
(7/1) — UPDATED 22:20 PDT — LOS ANGELES — The prosecution in the murder trial of Johannes Mehserle, the former BART Police officer who shot and killed unarmed passenger Oscar Grant on New Year’s Day 2009, urged a Los Angeles jury to convict Mehserle of second-degree murder during its closing argument today.
But the defense said the prosecution had not proven that Mehserle intended to shoot Grant beyond a reasonable doubt. “This was an accident, folks. Clear and simple,” Mehserle’s defense attorney Michael Rains said.
BART Police Shooting, Cops & Courts »
(6/29) — 21:15 PDT — LOS ANGELES — Both sides finished presenting evidence Tuesday during a sometimes emotional day of testimony in the murder trial of former BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle, who fatally shot unarmed passenger Oscar Grant on New Year’s Day 2009.
BART Police Shooting, Cops & Courts »
(6/29) — 11:22 PDT — LOS ANGELES — The defense rested its case this morning in the murder trial for former BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle, who fatally shot unarmed passenger Oscar Grant on New Year’s Day 2009.
The prosecution, which contends Mehserle intentionally pulled his gun to shoot Grant, is expected to begin its rebuttal this afternoon. Closing arguments are scheduled for Thursday and the jury could begin its deliberations as early as Friday.
BART Police Shooting, Cops & Courts »
(6/28) — 20:18 PDT — LOS ANGELES — An expert witness retained by the defense for Johannes Mehserle, the former BART Police officer charged with murder in the shooting death of unarmed passenger Oscar Grant, said today that he had no doubt that Mehserle would have been justified in Tasing Grant because he was resisting being handcuffed.
But during a rough cross examination, retired LAPD Captain Greg Meyer, a police trainer who is an expert on Tasers and use of force by police officers, revealed a seeming lack of familiarity with the details of the case.
BART Police Shooting, Cops & Courts »
Former BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle, who shot and killed unarmed train passenger Oscar Grant on January 1, 2009, told a Los Angeles County jury Friday morning that he mistakenly drew his gun instead of his Taser — the first public explanation made by the ex-officer since the videotaped incident.
BART Police Shooting, Cops & Courts »
(6/24) — UPDATED 20:00 PDT — LOS ANGELES — In a surprise move Thursday afternoon, former BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle, who shot and killed an unarmed train passenger at the Fruitvale BART station on January 1, 2009, took the witness stand and testified in his own defense.
BART Police Shooting, Cops & Courts »
(6/24) — UPDATED 01:42 PDT — LOS ANGELES — An expert witness brought to the stand by the defense for Johannes Mehserle, the former BART Police officer being tried for murder in the shooting of unarmed passenger Oscar Grant on New Year’s Day 2009, said Wednesday that videos of the incident showed that Grant and his friends were behaving aggressively that night, not BART Police officers.
