(01-07) 19:14 PST OAKLAND — The BART police officer who shot an unarmed man to death on a station platform early on New Year’s Day quit the force Wednesday, avoiding an interview with police internal affairs investigators trying to get to the bottom of an incident that has prompted broad outrage.
Officer Johannes Mehserle, 27, was supposed to make a statement Wednesday about why he shot 22-year-old Oscar Grant as the supermarket worker lay face-down at the Fruitvale Station in Oakland, BART said.
Video recordings made by at least two BART passengers and shown repeatedly on TV news programs have prompted speculation that Mehserle fired without provocation or by accident after Grant and several friends were detained around 2 a.m. in the aftermath of a fight on a train.
Mehserle, however, did not show up for the scheduled interview at 11 a.m. – the same time the funeral for Grant began in his hometown of Hayward. Instead, the officer’s attorney and the president of BART’s police union appeared and handed over a short resignation letter, BART spokesman Linton Johnson said.
“We were prepared to compel him to talk, but he resigned,” Johnson said. “We’re going to continue the investigation, with or without him. … There are many investigations that go on without the key person.”
The resignation prompted cheers and applause when it was announced at an afternoon rally at the Fruitvale Station, where several hundred protesters called for the officer to be arrested and charged.
The Thing That Pisses Me Off Is This…
Mehserle’s resignation means he does not have to answer questions about the shooting from BART internal affairs investigators.
As Much As I Could Care Less About This Guy, I’m Dying To Know What He Has To Say For Himself. I Cannot Believe They Actually Tried To Say He Might’ve Mistaken His Pistol For A Tazer Gun. Fuck Outta Here.
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