Currently in progress is the bail hearing for Johannes Mehserle, the BART officer who shot and killed Oscar Grant at the Fruitvale station in Oakland. During this hearing, Mehserle's lawyer said that a witness
overheard him say that he was going to use his taser on Oscar Grant.
That's what has long been speculated: that the officer mistakenly pulled his gun from its holster, thinking it was his Taser, then fired it. That the death was accidental. Now we have the attorney's account, which suggests this might be the case.
The SF Gate's giant centered top headline screams: "BART Cop to Witnesses: "I'm Going to Tase Him." Despite the fact that there was,according to the SF Gate account, only one witness who heard Mehserle say that. Who was that witness? Why, it was the other BART cop, Tony Pirone, the guy who punched Oscar Grant in the head just before he was shot.
How plausible is this explanation? Hard to say. Commenters online following Grant's death were almost equally divided in their analysis of whether he even intended to pull his gun.
Your thoughts on this defense revelation go below.
RELATED:
Watch bail hearing in BART murder case (no courtroom audio)
CBS 5 story, "
Defense Says BART Cop Mistook Gun For Taser"
Download Defense Court Document (.pdf)UPDATE, 3:02 p.m.: Bail for Mesherle has been set at $3 million.
