Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer and former Friday Night Lights actor Michael B. Jordan are in talks to star in Fruitvale, an independent flick about the 2009 New Year's Eve killing of Oscar Grant by BART officer Johannes Mehserle, which polarized the Bay Area and shed light on police brutality in Oakland. "If deals go through, Jordan will play Grant, the 22-year-old man who crosses paths with friends and enemies, family and strangers on his last day. Spencer would play his tough and protective mother," notes Hollywood Reporter. more ›

The OPD has yet more blood on their hands — and another potentially disastrous PR problem to contend with — as news arrives today that the victim in an officer-involved shooting in East Oakland on Sunday is a cousin of the late, martyred Oscar Grant. As ABC 7 reports, not only does the victim, Tony Jones, claim he was unarmed at the time of the shooting, but he and his family say he is related to Grant, who was a resident of Hayward. more ›

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 ›

Just as soon as it came—on Tuesday, to be exact—last night police evicted residents of the new Occupy Oakland encampment on the 2000 block of Peralta Street near Mandela Parkway. Set up in an empty lot, occupiers claim the space has been vacant for years, which they thought gave them the right to camp there. No so. This prompted the landowner to file a complaint with the city. Oakland police moved in a little after 5 p.m. on Wednesday to clear out protesters. 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 ›

The transit agency's police force has finally made a move towards more officer accountability in the wake of the high-profile, fatal shootings of Charles Hill and Oscar Grant by BART Police officers. According to CBS5 and the Chronicle's Phil Matier, BART PD has launched a pilot program to give officers clip-on, ride-along cameras to permanently record future incidents. more ›

A group called No Justice, No Bart will hold a rally to protest Sunday's officer-involved shooting of Charles Hill, 45, a man with no fixed address. If you recall, two BART cops responded to reports of a "wobbly drunk" caucasian man in "tie-dye and military fatigues" at Civic Center around 9:45 p.m, but the confrontation was over in less than a minute when one of the officers shot the suspect in the torso. This most recent shooting, of course, brings to mind Oscar Grant, a now-canonized East Bay man famously shot and killed by Johannes Mehserle on New Year's Day 2009. 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 ›

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 ›

During yesterday's quaint pro-Johannes Mehserle rally in Walnut Creek, no arrests were made. Also, no damages were reported. The most severe thing to happen at the pro-BART cop rally were a few four-letter words tossed about in the air. (Words can hurt, people.) more ›

Here are some shots from today's reportedly peaceful Pro-Mehserle rally in Walnut Creek. 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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

Well, that was fast. The San Francisco Chronicle has declared involuntary manslaughter "the right verdict in Mehserle case." Way to wait a day or two to let things settle. Or sink in. Sheesh. (Read SFist's continuing coverage of the verdict reaction.) 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 ›