Defense starts case in ex-BART cop shooting

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

OAKLAND — Defense attorneys for the former BART officer from Napa who is charged with murder in an Oakland train station shooting have started presenting their case.

The attorney for officer Johannes Mehserle called two people to testify Wednesday at the preliminary hearing about what they saw happen on the platform New Year’s Day, when Mehserle shot and killed 22-year-old Oscar Grant.

The witnesses were on the train at the time of the incident.

Mehserle — who attended New Technology High School in Napa and the police academy at Napa Valley College — has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge. His attorney says Mehserle shouldn’t face such an extraordinary charge because, he says, Mehserle didn’t shoot Grant intentionally or with malice.

Some of Mehserle’s fellow officers are also expected to testify to the alleged chaos on the platform and resistance to the officers from Grant and his friends.

 

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