The former BART officer who killed 22-year-old Oscar Grant in Oakland on New Year’s morning was finally arrested. Johannes Mehserle was taken into police custody  Tuesday evening in Nevada after a murder warrant was issued for his arrest. He is expected to return back to Alameda County,  sometime today.

An Alameda County judge signed an arrest warrant alleging murder, and Mehserle surrendered without incident, authorities said. He is being kept in a segregated area of the jail facility and is on a precautionary health and welfare watch, authorities said.

 

Sources said Mehserle was in Nevada because he feared for his safety after death threats were made against him. [SF Gate]

 

It’s about time we finally heard some good news about this story. This is step one in what will be a long and painful process for Grant’s family. Mehserle, 27, will probably be charged as soon as he gets back to California.  Once the trial gets underway,  we can only hope for anything but another another Rodney King, Sean Bell verdict. 

 

I can imagine things are about to get ugly.  As Angela mentioned before, Grant’s past is about to become media fodder.  Anything wrong this kid has done in the past will probably be used by Mehserle’s defense team to paint him as a thug; but we all know who the real thug is in this case.  Any sensible jury should come to the same conclusion.

 

Earlier: Oscar Grant, Sean Bell- What’s the Difference? Do Tell

 

Robbie Tolan Update: We also mentioned last week another officer involved shooting of an unarmed black man in Bellaire, TX near Houston.  Robbie Tolan was shot by a police officer New Year’s Eve in his driveway, after the officer suspected he was driving a stolen car. The car wasn’t stolen.

 

Shortly after we posted the story a mutual friend reminded Angela and I that we met and hung out with Robbie one weekend in Vegas our senior year at USC.  These stories were already ruining our spirits but once we realized it happened to someone we knew, it got more real and even sadder.

 

Robbie is still in ICU with a bullet lodged in his liver.  So far, the city attorney and other city officials have only met privately to discuss the issue. No word if criminal charges will be brought up against the officer.  He is currently on paid administrative leave.

 

Other Bellaire residents are coming forward and claiming they have been victims of racial profiling by the police department, but the assistant police chief doesn’t think that was the case in this shooting. I’d like to know what other explaination the officers havefor approaching Tolan and another young man with their guns drawn? It’s unfortunate, but anytime two-black kids are pulled over in a predominately white neighborhood, suspected of driving a stolen car,  it smells a little fishy.

Tags: BART shooting, Johannes Mehserle, Oscar Grant, Police shootings, Racial Profiling, Robbie Tolan