Lawyer: Ex-BART cop from Napa used wrong weapon in shooting

[Adsos Letter]

Source: AP/Napa Valley Register

OAKLAND — *snip* The BART officer who shot and killed an unarmed man may have mistakenly pulled his service pistol instead of a stun gun, according to documents filed by his lawyer Friday that offer the first glimpse at his defense. *snip*

*snip*Mehserle has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder in the death of 22-year-old Oscar Grant, who was killed early New Year’s Day. Cell phone videos of the incident, widely viewed on the Internet, show the officer standing over Grant as he was lying facedown on a train platform and firing one shot into the man’s back.

Grant died of the gunshot wound to his torso.
But in a court filing Friday, Rains said witness accounts indicate that Mehserle meant to draw his Taser, but instead pulled his pistol. The lawyer blamed inexperience by the young officer, who passed his Taser user certification test on Dec. 3.

“The bulk of the discovery, including witness and officer statements, seem to indicate that this young officer, who carried a taser for only a few shifts prior to this event, may have mistakenly deployed his service pistol rather than his taser, thus negating any criminal intent,” Rains wrote. *snip*

http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2009/01/30/news/local/doc498378ce6c3ec132217696.txt

[crimsonblue]

1. I can see how once could confuse the two

I mean, they're on opposite sides of the hips, they have different weights, the trigger and grips feel different, one says TASR while the other doesn't, oh, and one shoots electricity and the other bullets.

This guy is either the stupidest cop in the world or he's a murderer. If it's the former, he needs to spend 10-15 years in jail for reckless homocide, voluntary manslaughter, and police brutality. If it's the latter, Murder 2.

[TroglodyteScholar]

2. Watching the video...

...I still can't find any justification for firing a taser, either. When he was shot, Grant was on his belly and no longer putting up any kind of struggle.

[backscatter712]

3. Bullshit.

Bull-fucking-shit.

The cop's taser and his service weapon were on the opposite sides of his belt, and they were arranged so that you have to cross-draw to get the taser. There's no way he could have fumble-fingered and grabbed his Glock by mistake. He did it on fucking purpose, and he committed that act of murder on purpose.

He should be executed, as an example.