Riot-ready Oakland Police Control Lawlessness After Mehserle Verdict

Oakland police began the evening clutching batons and declaring a downtown assembly following the conviction of Johannes Mehserle, a former BART police officer found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, "unlawful." This afternoon, Mehserle was found guilty for the murder of Oscar Grant, a man who was killed at a train station in downtown Oakland on New Year's Day, 2009. Police said those gathering in Grant's honor, in protest of the verdict, would face possible arrest or "serious injury" if they refused to disperse:

User name: MannyOrtez
Location: Oakland, Calif.
Date uploaded: July 8

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Later, large numbers of officers were present throughout the night to control crowds in downtown Oakland:

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Location: Oakland, Calif.

Date uploaded: July 8

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Location: Oakland, calif.

Date uploaded: July 8

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Some dumpsters were also set ablaze during the protest:

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Location: Oakland, Calif.

Date uploaded: July 8

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Oaklanders Respond to Guilty Verdict in Oscar Grant Murder Trial

Oaklanders gathered downtown following the conviction of Johannes Mehserle, the former BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) police officer accused of shooting and killing Oscar Grant while on duty in the early hours of New Year's Day, 2009. Cell phone videos of the shooting shared on YouTube by witnesses gave rise to a movement surrounding the incident and a protest that became violent in the weeks following Grant's death.

This afternoon, a jury in Los Angeles convicted Mehserle of involuntary manslaughter. One video captured a few people's initial reaction, which was to leave the city:



User name: youthradio
Location: Oakland, Calif.
Date uploaded: July 8
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Oakland businesses boarded up their shop windows in anticipation of possible riots following the verdict. On the boarded up windows of one building, artists painted a mural of Grant.



User name: MrWalkwithme
Location: Oakland, Calif.
Date uploaded: July 8
Views: 4
User notes: Oscar Grant mural at Youth Radio - Oakland, CA - July 7th two thousand ten.
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