Jan 11, 2009 7:21 pm US/Pacific
Emotions Run High At BART Public Meeting
OAKLAND (AP) ―
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Oscar Grant III, killed by a BART police officer.
CBS
Angry residents criticized transit officials again Sunday for their response to the fatal shooting of an unarmed man by a transit police officer on New Year's Day.
About 100 people attended a community meeting hosted by the Bay Area Rapid Transit board about the shooting of 22-year-old Oscar Grant, but few appeared appeased.
Most who spoke railed against what they called a slow response and demanded to know if Officer Johannes Mehserle would be arrested. Alameda County prosecutors, and Oakland and transit police say they still are investigating why Mehserle shot Grant, who had been detained in a station following a fight on a train.
"Why hasn't anyone with authority just arrested this guy?" asked Oakland resident Nader Bey, echoing the frustration prevalent at the more than two-hour-long meeting.
Mehserle, 27, resigned from the force before his department's internal affairs division could interview him. BART Police Chief Gary Gee pleaded for patience and said Sunday he hoped to present the division's findings about the case to the district attorney by week's end.
Gee later said he does not believe at this point that a lack of training contributed to the shooting. Mehserle, who was a BART officer for two years, received all required police training, including on avoiding racial profiling, Gee said.
Last week, demonstrators outraged by the shooting torched cars, smashed store windows and threw bottles at officers in downtown Oakland. This was the transit agency's second public meeting in four days intended to ease tensions.
Oakland City Council member Desley Brooks said she wanted to know when the board would respond to a list of demands, including the identifications of the other officers present during the shooting and turning the investigation over to state and federal prosecutors.
She asked BART director Carole Ward Allen: "When are you going to take some action, some real action, Carole? It is clear something has to be done..."
Ward Allen, who earlier had said the board was doing its best to release information without compromising the investigation, left the room visibly agitated. She represents the district where Grant was shot.
Ward Allen eventually returned to the meeting and said afterward that she and her colleagues also are frustrated with the pace of the investigation.
"I'd like for it to have been done yesterday, but the district attorney is going to take his time," Ward Allen said.
Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff says he will decide within two weeks whether to bring criminal charges. On Saturday, Attorney General Jerry Brown said he would dispatch a state prosecutor to monitor the county investigation.
The BART Board of Directors has scheduled a special meeting for Monday afternoon to discuss creating an oversight committee that would have responsibility for monitoring police-related incidents.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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