(BART police shooting case) Mehserle lawyer, Grant's friend clash in court

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

(06-22) 18:55 PDT LOS ANGELES --

The attorney for the former BART police officer accused of murdering Oscar Grant clashed Tuesday with a reluctant defense witness, a friend of Grant's, over what happened between the defendant and the victim just before the shooting.

By its nature, the testimony of 23-year-old Jackie Bryson - who was kneeling and handcuffed just inches from Grant when Johannes Mehserle shot him - was bound to be contentious.

And it was, for two solid hours, during which Bryson said Mehserle had uttered an expletive before firing but had also threatened to shock Grant with a Taser.

Defense attorney Michael Rains, who says his client fired his gun accidentally after intending to deploy the Taser, repeatedly accusing Bryson of lying in an effort to get the 28-year-old Mehserle convicted. He suggested Bryson had taken a swing at Mehserle at one point on the Fruitvale Station platform in Oakland, which Bryson denied.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/22/BAEA1E362R.DTL

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That's right. One of Grant's own friends decided to testify for the cop who shot Grant! Mehserle's attorney was really pissed off at Bryson today and accused Bryson of dishonesty. Things are certainly NOT looking good for the prosecution right now, so don't get your hopes up quite yet. However, yesterday Toledo, Ohio police officer Thomas White was sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting unarmed motorcyclist Michael McCloskey (who survived/is now physically handicapped).

Of the BART cops I've met they seem particularly bullying and unprofessional. Several once detained me because I was practicing a musical instrument in the privacy of my own car while legally parked in the Colma BART station. A good place to play and not bother the neighbors so i used to think! But these cops really wanted to search my vehicle! Dumb fucks that think that all musicians must be dope dealers...

These remedial cops (that's what BART police are) tried to coerce me in various ways to grant consent to a search which I denied them. Used all sorts of B/S tricks like "we're looking for a kidnapped child". That's the ruse that so many of them try and pull off these days. Intimidates the populace. I've had this stunt attempted twice on me. Once by the BART cops and once by the Sonoma County Sheriff's Dept.

So BART cops can be identified by their having only room temperature IQ's.

That said I'm not much impressed by the late Oscar Grant either. All he had to do was stop resisting arrest and the accident/murder/whatever never would have happened. This kid was known for resisting arrest BEFORE too. So I wouldn't hold him up to be any kind of positive role model or symbol. Poor guy is dead though and that is sad to his surviving family.

Over all there are just too many flawed characters in this drama to expect much sense to ever come out of the trial.

Democrats and Liberals should probably steer clear of this case.

...when I was on the Metro in DC for the Inauguration, someone has asked an officer on board which train went to Georgetown. He replied " Sorry, I'm not from here, I'm on loan."

When asked where he was from, it was like his answer stopped time. "Oakland" he answered casualty. Everybody on that train either made the connection right off, or felt the instant rise in the barometric pressure; including the cop. That's when I noticed his arm patch.

B.A.R.T.

I've never seen a cop get off a subway car walking backwards in my life, but the very next stop, that is exactly what he did. To a deafening silence.

I'm told they were too elitist for that when they were building Metro.

Dupont Circle, on the Red Line, will get you close enough if you don't mind a bit of a walk. I presume you aren't actually interested in the answer to that question at this point, though. :)

maybe more.

A handcuffed on his stomach victim? WHY? Did he call him bad names? What could Oscar have done while handcuffed and on the ground? I hope this pig goes to jail for life. Most of us saw the video, and the reaction of the cops trying to confiscate camera's from people filming it. They deserve everything they get.

But the defense's argument in this one just strikes me as prima facie implausible.

for the defense.

His testimony, which you conveniently did not quote in full, indicates that he was not a compliant witness.

Which suggests that he subpoenaed.

So kindly prove what you claim.