the march has already started. the riot begins at sundown, ...
http://www.policeone.com/investigations/articles/3803722-Mehserle-released-from-jail/
June 13, 2011
Mehserle released from jail
For Mehserle, being freed from jail offers a chance to begin anew
By Paul T. Rosynsky
Oakland Tribune
OAKLAND, Calif. — Former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle was released from jail early Monday morning after serving just over 11 months of a two-year-prison term given to the 29-year-old after he was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for killing Oscar Grant III.
Mehserle's release at 12:01 a.m. was confirmed by a Los Angeles County Men's Jail automated notification system which sent out alerts as soon as the former Napa resident was allowed to walk free.
Related Article:
Video: Riot police at Mehserle protests in OaklandRelated content sponsored by:
Although Mehserle was sentenced to state prison for his conviction, he was never handed over to the California Department of Corrections because of safety concerns. Mehserle's attorney Michael Rains successfully argued to keep Mehserle in Los Angeles County jail where he was held in his own cell and apart from other inmates.
Mehserle also did not serve the entire two-year sentence given by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert Perry because of credits he received for time served. Mehserle was put in jail immediately after a Los Angeles jury found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter on July 8, 2010.
For Grant's family, the release is a bitter reminder of the tragedy that occurred in the early hours of Jan. 1, 2009, and how, in their minds, the criminal justice system failed.
"We really don't feel like there has been accountability for his actions," Cephus Johnson, Grant's uncle and a family spokesman, said earlier this month. "We were totally let down by the judicial system."
For Mehserle, being freed from jail offers a chance to begin anew but not in the profession he had chosen when he became a BART police officer more than three years ago. And while Mehserle's release closes a chapter in the highly publicized saga, the story of Grant's death and its implications will continue for years as both a federal civil suit and an appeal of Mehserle's conviction remain active in the courts.
Rains would not discuss what Mehserle's plans are or where he will live.
It also remains unclear what type of parole Mehserle will be given although some have said the former police officer will be given the most lenient parole available in the state which does not require him to take drug tests, check in with a parole officer or remain a resident of California.
Mehserle was charged with murder for killing Grant on the Fruitvale BART station platform in Oakland. The killing made national headlines and sparked several destructive demonstrations after videos captured by BART passengers recorded the shooting. The videos showed an unarmed Grant being shot in the back as he lay prone on the station platform with another BART police officer holding him down.
Mehserle refused to speak to investigators immediately after the killing and eventually was charged with murder by now-retired Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff.
Publicity surrounding the shooting and the frequent protests in downtown Oakland forced a relocation of the trial to Los Angeles, where Mehserle testified in his own defense, saying the shooting was an accident caused when he mistook his gun for his Taser.
A jury appeared to believe Mehserle, finding him guilty of involuntary manslaughter. That verdict and a decision made by Perry during a sentencing hearing to throw out a complicated gun enhancement charge reduced Mehserle's possible term in jail from 25 years to life to two years.
It also angered Grant's family members, who continue to believe Mehserle purposely killed Grant and that he has not paid enough for the crime.
