" If you take a look at the video, as I did It was an accidental shooting. How did this get turned into such an ugly racist matter? People in Oakland..get a grip. the lives of not one..but two families are being eternally damages and affected by the senseless backlash from the black community. "

" I think it has made it to this level becuase of where he ( the officer) comes from. Everybody thinks that if you are from NAPA then you owe a winery and have everything you want handed to you . IF the officer were from Fairfield , Richmond or Vallejo this would not have been turned into a circus . I do NOT feel that this officer woke up and said to him self that I want to kill a man tonight .
I feel that Oaklands mayor is behind alot of this . He ( Oaklands Mayor ) was asked by the family of the OPD officers that were gun down in COLD blood NOT to speak at there funerals. Just thought I would add that ... BUT this is just my thoughts "

" I find it impossible to believe that a police officer (or anyone in their right mind, for that matter) would intentionally kill an innocent person in cold blood, especially with so many witnesses present..... "

" "Ooops", is no defense for murder. Under color of authority raises it to a much higher standard. A badge and a gun are not a license to kill.

The verdict in this case is all that stands between the good ol' USA and a police state.

The punishment for a sworn officer killing someone should be much worse than for an average citizen who makes that "mistake". Cops simply cannot have a bad day that ends someone's life. Period. "

" It's reverse discrimination to me... "

" Yes doscentavos. But one family can not recoup their loss. Get a grip on that.

People in Oakland would not appreciate such "sensitive" advice. "

" That's cause you're exactly right jeeper16. He DIDN'T kill anyone in cold blood. It was an accident, which the footage clearly shows. But let's just attribute it to racism and murder so we can smash the windows out of cars and stores and ruin the entire life of an officer who made a mistake when dealing with a prior criminal/hoodlum that was engaging in a brawl on BART. Makes sense right? And lets also act like cops are out to kill black citizens. After all, it's not like anyone in Oakland engages in criminal activity. Hmmmm... "

" napasfinest, Oscar Grant was face down and compliant in several videos. Demonizing him by calling him a brawling hoodlum only shows the contempt that police have for the citizenry. That police attitude is why Oscar Grant is dead.

This was no "accident". It was full blown negligence under color of authority. Hotheads have no business hiding behind a badge, and colleagues have no business circling the wagons around a bad cop. It paints you all with the same brush. "

" Just a couple of comments for Wannabee:

1) "Oops" actually IS a defense to murder, albeit an overly simplistic one. It is not, however a defense to manslaughter necessarily.

2) A badge and a gun are in fact symbols of the power invested in law enforcement, including the power to protect life by taking it.

3) As far as the punishment for an officers being harsher than for non officers, I wonder if you would say the same thing about a doctor who has a bad day and kills someone. "