Why Isn't Oakland on Fire Right Now?

Why Isn't Oakland on Fire Right Now?

I'm serious here. Why isn't the place lit up like the mother fucking 4th of July. By all means it should be considering such a bullshit sentencing was handed out yesterday.. but first, some back story...

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Perry has yet to make a decision today in the sentencing of former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle, but has made several statements indicating that he will not impose the maximum sentence and might throw out the gun-enhancement charge.

Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in July in the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Oscar Grant III on the Fruitvale BART platform.

Perry said he has "serious concerns" about the gun-enhancement charge. Without it, Mehserle would face the maximum of four years.

Perry also chastised Mehserle and Grant supporters as he read excerpts from letters and post cards he received. Perry said he was troubled by the lack of knowledge many people in the community had, in particularly a school principal who said Mehserle should get the maximum sentence because he committed murder.

"What troubled me is that this comes from an individual who identifies herself as a school principal," Perry said.

He said that "It's troubling to this court that the community is ... polarized and that is a tragedy is this case"

And here's a video recap for those of you who are reading a blog but don't like to actually read..



So what was the outcome? What was the sentence for a cop who mistakenly took out his gun, pulled the trigger and shot a man thinking he grabbed his tazer? Well, prepare yourself.

Yesterday, Judge Robert Perry gave Mehserle two years for the involuntary manslaughter conviction, the shortest term possible, and threw out the gun enhancement, saying it was not supported by the evidence. No evidence? How about that fucking video tape footage of the crime?

Though it's probably due to the fact that he didn't know he was shooting a gun, he thought it was a taser. So he was not knowingly using a gun to involuntarily manslaughter. Only, the kid was lying facedown on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back and there was no reason to reach for a taser anyway. Let alone a fucking gun.

Check out that video again. He quickly and calmly holsters his weapon as if nothing happened. If his story had any legs and he actually thought it was a taser, wouldn't he be surprised as fuck that his taser just blew a hole in some guys back?

Every other instance where an accidental shooting by an officer who thought they were tasing the person, when tasers actually were black and looked like guns, resulted in the cop immediately rushing to the person's aid and apologizing while immediately seeking medical attention. Not to mention actually being apologetic to the family of the victim. None of that happened in this case.

Let's just ignore the fact that the weight differences between the gun and the very brightly and small taser make it virtually impossible to accidentally grab the taser. Especially when they're on the opposite side of the uniform from the gun. The defense stand that it was a mistake is complete bullshit.

So again I ask, why isn't Oakland burning right now?

Oh yeah, did I mention that the judge gave Mehserle DOUBLE credit for the time served. In truth, he's only spent less than five months behind bars, but was given double credit for the time served. So really, he only has, at most, maybe two or three months in jail. Though I'm sure they'll let him out of the lush safe prison environment that he'll be in away from any all of the rest of the cop hating criminals due to over crowding much sooner.

Oh yeah, the kicker to this? Mehserle's attorney says they're going to appeal the sentence. The only way this story could get more outrageous is if the police go on strike as a means to protest the jail sentence of one of their own.

So to make sure you have the out come of a cop pulling a gun and shooting a pinned down man on the Bart and killing him. He serves 146 days in jail and his conviction is for a 2 year sentence. He's getting 292 days credit as time served so realistically, he'll be out just in time for Christmas for a murder.

I think it's pretty clear to see that there was not one single person of color in that jury room.

So once more, why isn't Oakland on fire right now?