Prosecution rests in California train station shooting trial of former transit officer

Prosecution rests in Calif. train station shooting

LOS ANGELES — Prosecutors rested their case Monday in the trial of a former Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer accused of killing an unarmed black man, relying mainly on video taken by bystanders and witnesses who recounted a chaotic scene on an Oakland train platform last year.

Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Dave Stein called 26 witnesses, some of whom spoke more about another ex-officer who hasn’t been charged rather than the defendant, Johannes Mehserle, who has pleaded not guilty to murder for the New Year’s Day 2009 shooting death of Oscar Grant.

Mehserle, who is white, is shown on videos taken by several train passengers shooting Grant, 22, in the back while he’s face down. Defense attorney Michael Rains has argued that his client meant to use his Taser stun gun as he tried to subdue Grant instead of pulling out his .40-caliber handgun.

Prosecutors have said Mehserle, 28, did intend to shoot Grant, and that he used his weapon because officers were losing control of the situation. However, Stein didn’t appear to present much direct evidence that shows Mehserle intentionally shot Grant.

The trial was moved to Los Angeles because of intense media coverage and racial friction.

Some legal observers said it’s difficult to leave it up to jurors to figure out what Mehserle, who resigned shortly after the shooting, was thinking when he shot Grant.

“The only undisputed fact is that the shooting occurred and it was Mehserle’s gun,” said former federal prosecutor and San Francisco Bay area defense attorney Steven Gruel. “The question is one of intent and knowledge and to know what was in Mehserle’s head. That’s an impossible task to do on the evidence that the prosecution has presented.”

Many of the prosecution’s witnesses who saw Mehserle after the shooting, including some of Grant’s friends, said that the officer looked stunned or shocked after he realized he shot Grant.

Jurors did hear plenty about former BART officer Tony Pirone, who was the first officer that responded to the Fruitvale station after there was a report about a fight aboard a train.

Some witnesses who testified said Pirone was aggressive toward Grant and several of his friends who were detained by officers. The testimony illustrated for jurors escalating tensions for other officers, including Mehserle, who arrived a short time later.

Pirone, who was fired from BART in April, testified Friday that after the shooting, Mehserle approached him on the train platform and told him, “Tony, I thought he was going for a gun.”

Stein also openly accused Pirone and another officer of trying to justify the shooting by exaggerating the threat posed by Grant and his friends.

In his opening statement, Rains said Mehserle told Pirone before the shooting, “Tony, Tony, Tony, I can’t get his hands. I’m going to tase him.”

Stein may have discredited Pirone with testimony from train operator Keecha Williams, who spoke with Pirone shortly before the shooting. Pirone said last week he was concerned that someone may be injured aboard the train from the fight and asked Williams about what happened and who was involved.

Williams testified that Pirone never asked her about any fight victims or if the people being detained by him had been in the fight.

“It certainly puts his credibility into question,” said Michael Cardoza, another San Francisco Bay area defense attorney. He added it also may put the defense closer to possibly putting Mehserle on the stand.

“He’s the only person who knows what was happening in his mind,” Cardoza said. “He probably has to show the jury that he’s not the type of person who would shoot another person intentionally.”

Williams also said she saw Pirone swinging his fists at someone, but she couldn’t tell who it was. At that point, the noise level on the platform grew louder. She said one woman aboard the train called her on the intercom and asked her to close the doors, “because she said she didn’t want to get shot,” Williams said.

Moments later, Williams said she heard a gunshot and looked out her window.

“It was just mayhem,” she said of the scene.

Stein also called experts who spoke about proper training techniques as well as a BART sergeant who showed jurors that an officer would have to push down and forward on a holster hood then pull back a lever to release the gun similar to the one used by Mehserle.

The defense will begin presenting its side to the jury Tuesday. Up first will be a San Leandro police officer who will recount how in 2006 Grant ran from officers and resisted arrest. He was shot with a stun gun, according to a police report.

Authorities said Grant was carrying a gun and tried to get rid of it during the foot pursuit. A .380 pistol was found about 20 feet from the site of the arrest, and Grant was later sentenced to 16 months in state prison for a gun possession charge.

AP Writer Terry Collins contributed to this report.