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."
The situation turned dangerous, according to The Chronicle, "when a protester ripped the holster and gun from a police officer's belt." Said protester was then "swarmed by other officers and arrested."
The brief moment of civil unrest, comparatively quaint when compared to the riot in July sparked by Mehserle's involuntary manslaughter conviction. "The City Hall rally and another at the corner of 14th and Broadway were peaceful. Rather than the incendiary anger of past demonstrations over the Grant shooting, the rallies mostly had an air of sadness."
