The family of Charles Hill, the "wobbly drunk" homeless man shot and killed by BART police last July has filed a civil suit against BART seeking monetary damages for the incident. According to the Examiner's report on the filing, Oakland attorney John Burris will be representing Hill's next of kin. Burris, anti-BART PD readers might remember, successfully secured nearly $3 million in damages for Oscar Grant's mother and daughter in the wrongful death case that followed the trial of BART police officer Johannes Mehserle. more ›

Excessive force, according to a federal jury in San Francisco today. Mehserle and four other BART police officers were deemed not guilty of using excessive force in a civil trial over a 2008 confrontation at the Oakland Coliseum/Airport Station. more ›

Johannes Mehserle, the former BART cop convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the Oscar Grant case, is currently back in court standing trial along with four other BART PD officers for alleged police misconduct that predates the killing of Oscar Grant. But Mehserle's father, the man who famously mounted a "Free Johannes Mehserle" grassroots campaign from a large sailboat parked in McCovey Cove, won't be attending the rest of the trial after a U.S. District Court judge banned him from the proceedings yesterday. As it turns out, the elder Mehserle hasn't toned down his antics at all, even after his son was released with only half his jail time served. more ›

Early this morning, former BART cop Johannes Mehserle was released from the Los Angeles County Men's Jail. He served just over 11 months of a two-year sentence for the death of Oscar Grant, 22, on a Fruitvale BART platform on New Year's Day 2009. He was released with credit for time served. While the media eagerly hopes for civil unrest to erupt in Oakland, like it did on the day of Mehserle's sentencing, the city has been peaceful thus far. more ›

Controversial killer Johannes Mehserle, the BART cop who fatally shot and killed unarmed passenger Oscar Grant on New Year's Day 2009, will be released from jail in a couple of weeks, reports the Oakland Tribune. Mehserle will flee the clink after serving only 11 months of a two-year sentence. A Los Angeles County judge awarded him with an early release for time already served. Grant's family, of course, thinks the former BART cop's early release isn't fair, with one family member calling the sentencing "a slap in the face." [Oakland Tribune] more ›

Johannes Mehserle, the former BART cop sentenced to two years in prison for the involuntary manslaughter of Oscar Grant, is scheduled to be back in court for a hearing on June 1st where according to ABC7, the judge is expected to let him walk with credit for time served and good behavior. Mehserle has been in prison in LA for the past 10 months, but assuming the hearing goes as expected, he'll be out well before the 1-year anniversary of his sentencing. more ›

After Johannes Mehserle received the minimum sentence of 2 years jail time, as many as 500 people gathered outside Oakland City Hall to sing songs and present speeches in protest. However, according to authorities, "unruly marchers were tearing up the city" as darkness fell. CNN reports: "They were throwing rocks, bottles and trash, and ripping up fences." more ›

John Burris, the Grant family's civil attorney, gave a lengthy statement for the press following the sentencing of Johannes Mehserle. Burris, who has been present at the trial along with the Grant family, spoke about injustice in the legal system and his surprise that Judge Perry would make a motion for a new trial on the gun enhancement, but then dismiss that charge altogether. more ›

After today's (light?) two-year-sentencing of former BART cop Johannes Mehserle, Oakland is preparing itself for any possible melee. The scene outside Oakland City hall is growing in numbers, but, as of this afternoon, is reportedly peaceful. more ›

As many of you know by now, Johannes Mehserle received the minimum sentence of 2 years jail time, with time-served credit attached. In all, the former BART cop, convicted of killing Oscar Grant on New Year's Day 2009, will serve somewhere around 70 days in state prison. more ›

BART cop Johannes Mehserle, convicted of killing Oscar Grant on a Fruitvale platform on New Year's Day2009, will finally hear his sentence on Friday. "The sentence could range from 14 years in prison to probation," reports KGO. "Prosecutors are calling for prison time, but Mehserle's attorney is asking for probation on the grounds that the shooting was a tragic accident." more ›

Remember how we all thought Oakland was going to burn the night Johannes Mehserle got convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Oscar Grant? And the press got super excited and all that happened was a bunch of fools vandalized Sears, lit some trash cans on fire, and looted a Foot Locker? Well, Oakland City Attorney John Russo now wants to send a message to the people who vandalized and stole shit that night, and the city is suing four of the 78 people arrested that night. Two of them were caught spray-painting city property, and two were caught with jewelry in their pockets after they (and roughly 200 others) stormed into JC Jewelry Gold Teeth Master on Broadway. more ›

At last night's victorious playoff game, a mini brouhaha went down in McCovey Cove, drama that started in September after a pro-Johannes Mersherle hoisted up during a Giants game. more ›

At last night's victorious Giants game, someone displays their (misguided) affection for Johannes Mehserle, the BART cop convicted of killing Oscar Grant on a Fruitvale platform on New Year's Day 2009. more ›

During a tearful interview with KTVU at San Jose City Hall, Todd Mehserle, father of convicted BART cop Johannes, said that his son "is in the wrong place" and that "it's a very, very slippery slope when we start to send people to work with guns and not only civilly convict them, but criminally." more ›

While we can't be in Walnut Creek to report live from today's pro-Johannes Mehserle rally (because, well, let's face it, it's in Walnut Creek), Mercury News has a continuing "live chat" from the chillingly tepid scene just outside the city's courthouse... more ›

In what may be the first controversial/incendiary political protest to hit the streets of Walnut Creek, like, ever, organizers are gearing up for a rally in support of Johannes Mehserle and other law enforcement officers. The media love a conflict, and regardless of whether many anti-Mehserle, send-him-to-the-chair counter-protesters show up from the other side of the hills, this event will likely be covered on every local news outlet into the evening. more ›

Some members of the National Lawyers Guild and a smattering of community activists claim the Oakland Police Department "used excessive force in responding to a large protest after the verdict in the trial of former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle," reports AP/CBS5. more ›

According to the LA Superior Court, the sentencing date for convicted BART police officer Johannes Mehserle has been changed to November 5th, 8:30 a.m. Mehserle's sentencing was originally scheduled for August 6th. more ›

Despite the teenage-titter-worthy quality of the Matier and Ross headline ("Oakland cops probing two councilwomen at protest"), this isn't actually a story about sexual assault. The OPD is going after council members Jean Quan and Rebecca Kaplan for what they see as interfering with police work the night of the Johannes Mehserle verdict protest last week. Quan and Kaplan were part of a human shield keeping protesters from reaching police, but also preventing the riot cops from breaking through and advancing on some protesters. more ›

Oh dear. This doesn't sound like a good idea. Eye On Blogs has word that the city of Walnut Creek will hold a pro-Johannes Mehserle rally next week. The Mehserle trial, which devolved into a Team Edward/Team Jacob-like race debate in the Bay Area, divided Oscar Grant supporters from that chaff. This rally could, it seems, make one hell of a sensational story if it explodes into fisticuffs and righteous indignation. Or not. more ›

Here's the letter of apology (.pdf) from Johannes Mehserle, the BART police officer convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Oscar Grant, written on Sunday, July 4, days before his verdict was announced. Here it is in its entirety: more ›

The federal government has decided to intervene following yesterday's verdict in the trial of Johannes Mehserle. The Justice Department's civil rights division, along with the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco and the FBI... more ›

The weekly scene outside the 16th and Mission BART station at about 11 p.m. last night, where a crowd was gathered for an impromptu vigil of sorts — a 'peaceful' protest, if you will, of the Johannes Mehserle verdict — featuring this young lady playing TLC's "No Scrubs" on her ukulele and, just off camera to the left, another young lady in a beaded top doing a hippie-ish dance to the music. Was this an open mic night, or was this a protest? Come on, people. more ›

During last night's Mehserle verdict coverage, one sharp SF Appeal commenter suspected that many rapscallion rioters in Oakland might not be from Oakland. And? She was right. more ›

Here's some raw footage, shot by ABC 7, intended to make you believe Oakland was just a big chaotic bonfire following the Mehserle verdict. In actuality, these were just a few fiery dumpsters full of trash, surrounded by a lot of people waiting for something exciting to happen. There seems to have been a relatively contained protest in the early evening, followed by a relatively predictable, after-dark bout of anarchy (including the looting of a single Foot Locker, according to the Oakland Tribune), and at about 1:15 in the video, you can see the street lights go out, which makes everything seem more exciting, lit only by the fires. more ›

Images from Oakland shortly after the Johannes Mehserle verdict was announced. more ›

BART cop Johannes Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter today. Do you agree with the jury? more ›

A Los Angeles jury reached a verdict: BART cop Johannes Mehserle is guilty of involuntary manslaughter. He was convicted of killing Oscar Grant on New Year's Day 2009. more ›

The jury has reached a verdict in the Mehserle case. more ›