Johannes Mehserle
A peaceful rally in Oakland’s Frank Ogawa Plaza turned violent Friday night as protesters marched through downtown and into East Oakland. Oakland North’s Teresa Chin and Roberto Daza filed these photos as they followed the protests into the night.
Oakland’s streets are quiet again. Peaceful protests turned into a night of vandalism Friday after the announcement of a two-year sentence for former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle. Police officials said 152 people were arrested after protesters at a peaceful rally in Frank Ogawa Plaza stormed the streets of Oakland Friday night. Protesters marched through the downtown area and into East Oakland, blocking traffic, throwing rocks, breaking windows and jumping on cars along the way. Oakland police officials say protesters…
Oakland North reporter Teresa Chin provides an on-scene update of police arresting protesters who were reacting to the Johannes Mehserle sentencing.
Oakland North reporters Nicole Jones and Teresa Chin have been following tonight’s Johannes Mehserle sentencing protests. From the site of the first arrests, they filed these video reports.
A peaceful protest at Frank Ogawa Plaza turned ugly after the gathering was forced to break up at 6 p.m. Police estimated 300 to 500 protesters moved into the streets of downtown, where they blocked traffic and jumped on moving vehicles. For the full story, click here.
Updated 8:54 p.m.: Police have begun arresting protesters who have been wandering raucously around Oakland in response to the announcement of the Johannes Mehserle sentencing. Oakland Police spokesperson Jeff Thomason estimated that more than 100 protesters have been arrested.
Store owners boarded up windows and residents gathered in front of City Hall as news of a sentence in the Johannes Mehserle trial began to spread across Oakland Friday afternoon. The two-year sentence handed-down by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Perry is the lightest possible prison term for Mehserle’s conviction of involuntary manslaughter. Many Oakland residents were hoping for the maximum 14-year term while others wonder how Oakland will react as the day develops.
From a ninth-floor courtroom in downtown Los Angeles, Johannes Mehserle, the former BART police officer convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Oscar Grant III, was sentenced this afternoon to two years in prison. The sentence, from Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Perry, will include credit for the time Mehserle has already spent in jail.
As Oakland awaits news from the Los Angeles sentencing of former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle, downtown businesses are preparing today for the possibility of violence. Storefronts around Frank Ogawa Plaza are boarded up including the Oakland police Internal Affairs office, the offices of Youth Radio and the Men’s Wearhouse and Foot Locker stores nearby.
Probation or prison? On Friday morning, the sentence of Johannes Mehserle, the former BART police officer convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Oscar Grant III, will rest in the hands of one man, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Perry.
In the same downtown court building that housed the O.J. Simpson trial, Perry is expected to juggle a wide range of sentencing options ranging from parole to 14 years in California state prison.