Judge won’t dismiss murder charge in CA train station shooting
By APThursday, September 10, 2009
Judge won’t dismiss murder charge in CA train case
OAKLAND, Calif. — A judge has refused to drop a murder charge against a former transit police officer in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man on New Year’s Day.
In his ruling Thursday, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Thomas Reardon said video images shot by passengers undercut the defense claim that it was an accidental shooting.
Defense attorneys for Johannes Mehserle have argued that the former Bay Area Rapid Transit officer should be charged with involuntary manslaughter, not murder.
Cell phone video caught the shooting death of 22-year-old Oscar Grant at Oakland’s Fruitvale station during a disturbance.
Defense attorneys maintain that Mehserle meant to use his stun gun on Grant, not fire his handgun.
Information from: San Francisco Chronicle, www.sfgate.com/chronicle
