Former Calif. officer charged with murder testifies he mistakenly pulled gun instead of Taser

Former Calif. officer says he pulled wrong weapon

LOS ANGELES — A former San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer testified Friday that he mistakenly pulled out his pistol instead of a stun gun when he shot and killed an unarmed black man who was lying face down on an Oakland train platform.

In an emotional courtroom session marked by a spectator’s outburst, Johannes Mehserle broke down in tears as he told jurors in his murder trial that he heard a pop and thought the Taser had malfunctioned.

“I remember the pop that wasn’t very loud. It wasn’t like a gunshot. I remember wondering what went wrong with the Taser. I thought it malfunctioned,” he said.

Mehserle, who previously testified that earlier in the incident he had pulled out his Taser twice, said he only thought of using the stun weapon.

“It was the only option that crossed my mind,” he said. “Given the situation, the backdrop, the thought of using my gun never entered my head.”

Mehserle, who is white, has pleaded not guilty to murdering 22-year-old Oscar Grant on New Year’s Day 2009. The trial was moved to Los Angeles from Alameda County because of intense media coverage and racial tensions. Mehserle resigned shortly after the shooting.

Mehserle’s face grew red, his voice dropped and he tried to hold back tears as he testified. Grant’s mother, Wanda Johnson, left the courtroom as the defendant cried.

Moments later, a spectator walking out of the courtroom shouted, “Maybe you should save those (expletive) tears, dude!”

Superior Court Judge Robert Perry asked sheriff’s deputies to arrest the man, who was placed in handcuffs and taken away. Timothy Killings was arrested for investigation of disorderly behavior in any court of justice, a misdemeanor.

Mehserle’s mother also was in the courtroom and sobbed.

Mehserle, 28, had maintained a public silence for 18 months about what led him to shoot Grant until he took the witness stand in a surprise move Thursday. His testimony over two days lasted for more that six hours. Mehserle, who stands 6 feet, 4 inches, held his mother and other supporters in long embraces as he cried after getting off the witness stand.

On direct examination by his attorney Michael Rains, Mehserle told jurors that he struggled to restrain Grant while he was on his stomach and repeatedly told him, “Give me your hands.” Mehserle testified that he saw Grant digging his right hand into his right pocket and thought he might be going for a gun. He tugged on Grant’s right arm but wasn’t finding success.

“I made a decision at that point to tase him,” Mehserle said. “It made me question what his intentions were.”

Mehserle said he remembered saying, “I’m going to tase him,” and stood up looking down at Grant to see where on Grant’s back he could discharge his weapon.

After he fired the handgun, Mehserle said he was in disbelief at what had just happened. He said he heard a lot of yelling, presumably from Grant’s friends and a crowded train of onlookers, some of who took video of the shooting.

“I remember Mr. Grant saying, “‘You shot me,’” Mehserle recalled as he lips quivered trying to fight back tears.

Mehserle said he looked at Grant, who he said had grown hysterical, and tried to calm him down. At one point, Mehserle said he saw Grant’s eyes close. Rains asked him what he thought at that moment.

“I was scared because this wasn’t supposed to happen,” he said.

Mehserle added he had Grant’s blood on his hands and he was later taken to headquarters where he sat in a room and had time to comprehend his actions. Mehserle said he was “devastated.”

Rains concluded the questioning by asking Mehserle what he intended to do when he shot Grant.

“I didn’t intended to shoot Mr. Grant,” Mehserle said as he looked at the jurors.

“What was your intention?” Rains asked.

“To tase him,” Mehserle replied.

Prosecutors say Mehserle intended to shoot Grant, and that Mehserle used his handgun because officers were losing control of the situation. Mehserle wore his stun gun on his front left side the night of the shooting, while his handgun was mounted on his right hip.

On cross-examination, Alameda County Deputy District Attorney David Stein peppered Mehserle with questions about the potential danger of trying to get Grant’s hand out of his pocket if the defendant thought he may have a gun. Stein pointed out that officers are trained to yell out “gun!” if they see a weapon.

“If I knew 100 percent he had a gun I would have said it,” Mehserle said.

Stein also wondered why Mehserle put his gun in his holster after the shooting if he still considered Grant “a lethal threat.”

“My gun was never supposed to be out,” Mehserle said.

Stein asked why Mehserle had never mentioned to other officers that the shooting was accidental. He played video from a BART security camera that appears to show Mehserle and other officers talking on the platform minutes after Grant is shot.

“You never told anyone it was an accident?” Stein asked.

“No, sir,” Mehserle responded.

“You never told anyone you meant to pull your Taser, did you?” Stein quickly followed up.

“No, sir,” Mehserle said.

Outside of court, Grant’s uncle, Cephus “Bobby” Johnson said if Mehserle had apologized for what happened, he wouldn’t be sure it was genuine.

“It would be questionable if it was truthful or not,” Johnson said.

Associated Press Writer Terry Collins contributed to this report.