Oakland braces for possible riots as verdict approaches - Jun 2010
(Linkhotten)
San Francisco, California (CNN) -- Police are bracing for riots in Oakland, California as a verdict nears in a racially-charged murder trial of a white former police officer accused of killing an unarmed black man. On the Oakland Police Department website there are messages from the police chief and Oakland's mayor warning people to stay calm. Closing arguments are scheduled to conclude Friday in the murder trial of former Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer Johannes Mehserle, said CNN affiliate KTVU reported.
The jury could begin deliberating late Friday. Mehserle could be found not guilty, guilty of murder or guilty of a lesser offense like manslaughter. Mehserle is accused of fatally shooting an unarmed man on a California train platform on New Year's Day last year. Mehserle, who is white, has pleaded not guilty to killing Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old black man.
The shooting was captured on a bystander's cell-phone video camera, widely circulated on the Internet and on news broadcasts, and it spurred several protests and riots in and around Oakland. Mehserle resigned his position a few days after the incident and was later arrested in Nevada. Mehserle was released on a $3 million bond.
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I sure hope this week doesn't end with flaming police cruisers and angry mobs again.