Both Sides Remain Calm at Protest at Walnut Creek Mehserle Rally
.jpg "Used with permission")
Demonstrators at Mehserle support rally, July 18, photo by Josh Wolf
About 500 people descended on the parking lot of the Walnut Creek courthouse Monday afternoon to rally in support of former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle.
But at least half of those in attendance were either on-duty law enforcement from the surrounding community or reporters eager to capture the much-hyped event.
On July 8, a jury convicted Mehserle of involuntary manslaughter in the New Year’s Eve shooting death of Hayward resident Oscar Grant.
Dozens of supporters for Mehserle crowded up above the street on the parking lot shortly before 2 p.m., while a larger group of counter-protestors gathered below them on the sidewalk. While most of the pro-Mehserle camp quietly held their signs a few people engaged in confrontations with crowd below who spent much of the afternoon chanting “Murder” and “Justice for Oscar Grant.”
Shortly after 4 p.m., most of the Grant supporters marched three blocks up the street to the Walnut Creek BART station. The police followed closely behind, but the officers made no attempt to corral the protestors onto the sidewalk and no one was arrested.
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The problem with that guy's sign is that maybe it's not true in Walnut Creek, but here in Oak-Town even if you do call the police for help they probably won't even show up. Although to be fair, the three times they have responded to my house (2 car thefts and a trespasser) they have been polite and helpful both to me and even to the homeless guy picking plums from my tree that my idiot neighbors called 9-1-1 for.
What is sad to me about this rally is how many very young people (teenagers and children) expressed a Pro-Mehserle stance, that discounted the loss of life of a young, unarmed man. It is one thing to support police officers, it is another to think killing unarmed young men is something to revere.
There was no need whatsoever for a gun to be used in this "altercation" on NYE. Regardless of race, there is a mother who lost her son, a woman who lost her man, a child who lost his father, countless people who lost a friend and a community who lost a member.
I support my local Oakland PD, but not BART cops - they have a reputation for useless aggression, etc.
I can support my PD and think that Mehserle should have been convicted of murder - all at the same time!! He had plenty of time to think about what he was doing.......
I tried to reply to Paula Wirth but the comment won't line up correctly.
I'll never understand cop worshippers. Every profession has people who excel, people who are average, and people who do the job very badly. Why is it so hard to face that a cop can be wrong? Or that a cop could commit a crime?