" Just wondering why the first paragraph of this artilce says, "shot and killed an unarmed black man ". Why do they have to make it a point that the man was black. If this country ever wants to get pass race and color then we need to stop looking at people and labeling them by there color. The article should just say he shot an unarmed man in the back, they don't need to mention he is black "

" I noticed that too tiredof and I agree with you.

Also, writing the article in this way only incites people to believe it was white on black crime when we do not know that to be a fact. "

" Mr. Mehserle is suffering the worst possible conditions imaginable. Santa Rita jail is possibly the worst incarceration facility in the greater Bay Area. He is classified as "law enforcement protective custody", meaning that at all times 24/7 he is housed alone without any personal contact or conversation besides busy correctional officers. At this time he will spend hour upon hour upon hour completely by himself without any type of reading material. Although he is completely alone, he will not experience any form of privacy. The institution food served there is beyond disgusting, and for a man of his size it will not be enough to satisfy his appetite. The only thing to drink besides water is a sugary red fruit drink that will permanently stain sealed concrete. Once in a while a few ounces of milk is served with breakfast.

He will be feeling regretfull when he thinks of the recent past, and feeling absolutely terrified when he thinks of the future. Every moment awake will be spent thinking. The death of Oscar Grant is tragic, yet his suffering is over. The suffering of Mr. Mehserle has just begun. "

" To The Mehserle Family,

First of all congrtualtions to you Mrs. Mehserle on the birth of your baby. Being a mom myself, I can't imagine the emotions you are going through right now with having a new baby and not getting to share that precious time with your husband. I am praying for you all during this unimaginably difficult time in your life. It is such a terrible thing that you all are having to go through. People are making so many speculations about this and it is really just sickning. Nobody seems to be thinking about that fact that Johannes Mehserle's life is also forever changed! There is NOT one victim in this. He was doing an awesome thing for the community simply being a police officer. Now because of what was clearly a mistake, his career/dream as a police officer is over and his life along with his families life will never be the same. I hope that you all are able to be strong for him. Just put in God's hands that he will be cleared of the charges.

Sincerly "

" I find it difficult to even validate these comments with a comment. "

" Did anyone notice that Mr. Mehserle is the only policeman who drew a weapon? That says a lot about the situation. "

" my name here, do you think it's better if he's housed with other inmates, possibly African-American ones? I don't think he would last long in a situation like that.

From all reports I've read, this was an unjustified shooting. We'll see what the courts decide. I want to think Mr. Mehserle is innocent, but things aren't pointing that way. "

" no, krusty, I believe that Mr. Mehserle should be housed in a manner that will provide for his safety and well-being so that he may face the charges against him as a healthy and competant man.

Regardless of his guilt or innocence, the conditions at Santa Rita are extreme, to say the least. I can't say what the reasons are behind his actions the night Oscar Grant died, I wasn't there. Mr. Mehserle is still a human being, and dealing with things most of us cannot even fathom. "

" Abuse of authority under color must be held to a higher standard than a 'citizen' shooting accident...

The badge, the training, and the gun all combine to make this completely different than say, shooting your drunk neighbor when he tries to get into the wrong house at 2 AM...

Circling the wagons around the brother in blue is what's driving people crazy, and rightly so...

Cops cannot be allowed to make 'human' mistakes when authorized to use deadly force... Cops can't have bad days, any more than pilots or doctors... "

" I don't understand what you want, my name here. Do you want them to put him up in the local Motel 6 and take him out to Sizzler every night (some might call that torture)? He's in prison, it's not supposed to be pleasant. I feel for people who were later found innocent and had to live in those conditions, but what other options are there? You can't treat the few prisoners awaiting trial better than everyone else because they may not be guilty. "

" 2000 grad new tech high, 2006 grad from the NVC police academy (24 weeks). If i'm hiring an employee, I am very intersted in any long breaks like that. i feel that any police academy should look at raising entrance requirements from HS diploma or GED (with an entry level test) , to at least a 2 year associate degree. The training at the academy might be very comprehensive, but for those with no real educational foundation, the essential intricacies of the program will be missed. "

" I just want to comment on something.. everybody talks about all the murders that happen everyday in Oakland... but those aren’t done by someone who chose this line of work ( police ) ..THEY ARE 'SWORNE IN' to protect and serve the public.. He KILLED someone.. PERIOD. Accident or not.. a young man is dead by someone who is supposed to protect us.. What is WRONG with you people?! How would you feel if that was your 22 year old son??? "

" To brownsvalleybenz,
My first question would be what was my 22 year old doing that made the police be called out and detain him, obviously he was doing something wrong or he wouldn't have been detained. My next question would be what would my 22 year old son be doing out at 3a.m instead of at home with his 4 year old daughter? True he was SWORNE IN to protect and serve the public, and thats what he was doing, going to the scene of a violent confrontation to make sure innocent people weren't hurt or killed. Luckily the police arrived in time that no innocent people were hurt by Oscar or the other people causing a violent disturbance. Its to bad what happend to him and he didn't deserve to die but if he was at home instead of out at 3a.m. causing a disturbance this never wouldve happend. I'm sure if Oscar wouldve hurt or killed someone that night then everybody would be in an outcry about why Bart police didn't get there quick enough. Its a lose lose situation for police officers "

" TOCN, first, it was New Years Eve (New Years day at the time of the actual incident). If there's one day people may choose to stay out late and leave their children with a grand parent or baby sitter, that's it.

Second, it's not even known if Oscar was involved in the fight in any way. Yes, he was singled out by the BART police, but based on what? Did they see him do something worthy of being pulled away from those not involved? Was he deemed guilty by association? Did witnesses tell them he was involved in the fight? "

" tiredofcomplainingnapkins, in this country, we are free to roam the streets, once you are an adult, at any time of the night that you choose. We live in a free society. There isn't a curfew for adults that I know of.

The issue about this man being home with his child is another matter. In an ideal world, every father would care enough about his family to not be hanging out with his buddies late at night. But we live in an imperfect world. There are far too many men (and women) bringing children into this world without any knowledge about how to care and nurture for them. It's just the thing to do, having babies without any plan for their future. I suspect that Oscar is just repeating the pattern of parenting he was exposed to growing up.

That said, every human has value. It doesn't matter to me if they are walking the streets in the dark. They still have value and do not deserve to die just because they have a different lifestyle than we are accustomed to.

On a personal note, a relative of mine was at a bar and had been drinking too much. The young man's friend took off, leaving him there without any notification of his departure. My relative didn't know the address of his friend's house (in an unfamiliar town) and started walking alone in the dark, intoxicated and confused about which direction to walk. They had taken a taxi to the bar because they didn't want to drink and drive. The cops picked this young man up and they were not nice. They pinned him down and put knee pressure on the spine of his back. He resisted because of the pain. Abuse happens. It's not ok. "

" This is a very unfortunate situation and my prayers go out to the Grant family and the Mehserle family. This proves that actions do speak louder than words and ones actions does have an impact on more than just that person. I think some of you are getting off topic that an innocent person was shot and killed. Yes he was a 22 year old man out late on NYE. He did indeed have a little girl. We cannot speculate that he was a bad parent or out of control person. Things happen for a reason, and unfortunately bad things happen, I think what needs to be focused on is cops taking advantage of their badge. Accidents do happen but as far as I know cops do not draw their guns unless a gun is drawn on them, someone is running away, or possibly their life is threatened. By the different video clips taken by civilians that night, none of those scenerios looked like they took place. It is time that police officers acted right and set a positive example for their communities. ......Obviously the Rodney King situation ddin;t teach cops anythng. N.W.A said it best...... "

" The issue here is the taking of a human life. The system will fetter this all out; intentional, accidental or otherwise. What we are missing is the overall degredation of our society. The victim shouldn't have put himself in this position in the first place. I am NOT excusing the officer of wrong doing.......that issue will play out in the courts. But look at what is going on. News video to enrage the populous; rioting in the streets and destrruction of property. Why don't these people riot when anybody is murdered. Many are killed in Oakland (that are completely innocent), no riots then?? If the victim was a white guy, this would not be happening. Barack as President is going to make change with race relations??........hardly. Look how the black politicians are handling this. Barbara Lee demanding a federal investigation IF the locals don't do the right thing?? What if the victim were white; would she be there??....hardly.
The blacks are forever victims and our system will continue to perpetuate that. If the victim were a white guy; no murder indictment. "

" Cops cannot be allowed to make 'human' mistakes when authorized to use deadly force... Cops can't have bad days, any more than pilots or doctors

Oh yes, they can't be human and make mistakes. But I'm sure when you're speeding down the road and get pulled over you expect to be let off. People are human, regardless of profession and mistakes are made. "

" eischeid:
You don't know what he was doing in between so don't try to fill in the blanks. You're assuming he wasn't doing anything. As for law enforcement requirements what do you think the NVC courses are? There's a dearth of law enforcement cadets as is. "

" sophies mom says "" Did anyone notice that Mr. Mehserle is the only policeman who drew a weapon? That says a lot about the situation. ""

That really doesn't say a lot about the situation.



Actually them charging him with murder and proving it will be a pretty difficult task. They should have charged him with manslaughter. They had no real choice though because that is what the public wanted. Now he has a good chance of beating the charge in my opinion. "

" tiredofcomplainingnapkins? Oscar was out at a new years eve celebration with friends. I am pretty sure that is what a large number of people do during this time of year. BART offered free transportation between the hours of midnight and 3AM as a safe alternative to driving while intoxicated. Unfortunately, it was not safe enough for Oscar. "

" This is a tragedy for several reasons.
1) a man is dead
2) another man is in jail
3) once again racism has raised its ugly head
4) video proof is being turned into 'don't believe your lying eyes'

This was an unfortunate accident-not an unjustified murder. "

" as many have said: stop talking about how there are so many other murders without riots. the reason there are riots this time is because it was a police officer. a police officer who is held to a higher standard, who has plenty of training for situations like this and who clearly shot an unarmed, restrained man in the back. that is why there is all the rioting and protesting. not because of the man being killed. but because of how the man was killed and who did it. i am tired of cops being let off easy for their corruption and being guarded by the blue shield. good job DA's office for filing for murder. although it will be harder to prove, i hope with all my heart that you are able to prove it and you give this man the max sentence...... "

" The police officer made a deadly mistake and the DA took to long to bring charges. Oscar Grant's family bears the cost of this horrible mess. If the person was Asian maybe TERRY COLLINS could have used a different color. NVR should have policy to remove mention of race just like sex assault victims names, or most minor names are not printed. Or maybe the NVR just doesn't care. "

" From what it looks like to me the district attorney is taking orders from the ACLU and the mob in the streets of Oakland. He must be running for office soon. It is a sad day when a man's guilt or innocence is dictated by rioters and ACLU officials who capitalize on these unfortunate events. "

" sorry cali.........EVERYONE knows the reason there was riots; it was a black man killed by a white man.....where were the riots when the truck driver in LA was pulled from his truck and beaten?? And people like you just perpetuate this.........not innocent till proven guilty??? Not by your standards. Tired of cops getting let off easy?? Just WHAT IF the evidence comes out that this cop thought he was pulling his taser?? Maybe a horrible accident??? But your last sentence says it all. You really don't care do you?? "

" Rather then listen to the masses debate Mr. Mehrserle's guilt or innocence online, I think the NVR should take the following position;

Publishing opinions about the guilt, innocence or character of the accused in open criminal cases can affect that person's constitutional right to a fair trial. For that reason, we have chosen not to accept user comments on this story. "

" I told you He was going down for murder and you would not print my comments! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "

" OK first off I really think it's quite absurd some people are more concerned in making mention of the officers gap in work history out of high school until the time he became a BART cop more so than making mention or a point of the fact Oscar grant was just released from PRISION less than four months ago in September!!!!

Last I checked the probation stipulations on released convicted felons require them to be home before a certain hour unless they are at work or coming or going to work from home or from work to home etc. etc. neither of which was the case here! They also clearly limit them to not drink excessively if at all for that matter and most release terms/restrictions won't even allow them to even be in a bar or have any alcohol in their system privately let alone publicly till they are off probation!!! They also tell you to stay out of ANY and ALL situations were you might get a violation of your probation. So just him getting arrested for fighting on the BART train would have been enough to send him back to prison.

So if having a four year old at home and having less than four months of freedom under your belt wasn't enough to keep your felony having butt at home shouldn't his fear of a probation violation and going back to prison and loosing his job and lively hood be some kind of motivation to do right?!?

He was resisting arrest his hands weren't restrained look at all the clips from all angles even channel 2 did a retraction saying such that even showed still frames where his hands were at his sides reaching around in front of himself not complying with officers!!! "