Johannes Mehserle

After hearing that former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter Thursday afternoon for the 2009 killing of Oakland resident Oscar Grant, Bay Area residents at the Rockridge BART station said they hoped the Oakland community would react to the verdict peacefully.

Updated 11:40 pm: After a day of peaceful protests, on Thursday night a small group of protesters turned violent in downtown Oakland, looting and damaging downtown businesses in the wake of the Johannes Mehserle verdict. Earlier that day, a Los Angeles jury found the former BART police officer guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the January, 2009, death of Oscar Grant.

Tensions are high as former BART Police Office Johannes Mehserle’s murder trial comes to an end in Los Angeles. Mehserle faces a possible second-degree murder charge for killing unarmed 22-year-old Oscar Grant on New Year’s Day in 2009. Riots broke out during the weeks following the shooting and now as a verdict nears Oakland non-profits, government agencies, volunteer organizations and the Oakland Police Department are preparing for more possible violence if people are upset with the jury’s decision.

Many North Oakland residents said they were in disbelief after learning Tuesday afternoon that the jury in the Johannes Mehserle trial won’t include any African Americans. “It’s a slap to the face of people with color,” said Oakland resident Audra Robinson at the MacArthur BART station Wednesday.

Los Angeles Judge Robert Perry announced that the trial of Johannes Mehserle, the BART officer accused of murdering Oscar Grant on New Year’s Day 2009, could begin in mid-May.

BART convened a public forum Thursday seeking feedback from riders regarding the next BART police chief.

Members of the BART Police Department Review Committee raised questions Wednesday about the police practices at the West Oakland BART station on Nov 21 that resulted in the arrest and injury of an intoxicated train passenger.

An Alameda County judge ruled yesterday that the murder trial of Johannes Mehserle, the former BART police officer charged in the January 1 shooting of Oscar Grant, will take place in Los Angeles.

October 22nd was a National Day of Protest Against Police Brutality, a nation-wide initiative to draw attention to the lives that have been lost at the hands of law enforcement officers.