Ex-transit cop accused of murder posts $3M bail

By TERENCE CHEA and TERRY COLLINS, Associated Press Writers Terence Chea And Terry Collins, Associated Press Writers – 1 hr 8 mins ago

AP – In this Jan. 14, 2009 file photo, Johannes Mehserle, right, appears in the East Fork Justice Court in …

• Slideshow: Oakland Train Station Shooting

OAKLAND, Calif. – The former California transit officer charged with fatally shooting an unarmed man was freed Friday on $3 million bail as protesters gathered outside City Hall railed against his release.

Johannes Mehserle, 27, was released from Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, according to Alameda County Sheriff’s Sgt. J.D. Nelson. He had been in custody since his Jan. 13 arrest.

Mehserle has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder in the Jan. 1 shooting of Oscar Grant on an Oakland train platform.

Prosecutors said Mehserle shot Grant, 22, in the back while the man lay facedown and restrained on the ground. Mehserle’s lawyer said his client may have mistakenly pulled his pistol instead of a stun gun.

The shooting, caught on cell phone cameras and broadcast on TV and the Internet, has sparked numerous protests against the former Bay Area Rapid Transit officer, including several that resulted in arrests for arson and vandalism.

Protesters outside Mehserle’s bail hearing last week had demanded that he remain jailed. Judge Morris Jacobson had said he set bail at a high amount in part because the former officer fled to Nevada during the initial investigation.

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums called on protesters outside City Hall on Friday to remain peaceful. About 150 of them had gathered when Mehserle’s release was announced.

“We must treat each other and our city with respect and dignity while the outcome of this case is determined by judge and jury,” Dellums said in a statement.

John Burris, who is representing Grant’s family in a $25 million wrongful-death claim against BART, urged the public to “not create any social unrest as a consequence of this.”

“The family wants peace and the process to flow in the normal course of events,” he said.

As a condition of release, Mehserle was ordered to surrender all weapons.

It’s unclear where Mehserle was headed after posting bail. His attorney, Michael Rains, did not immediately return a call.

The judge has imposed a temporary gag order in the case until the next hearing, set for Feb. 13.

 

Police Officer Deaths Drop in ’08

By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer Larry Margasak, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 54 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Fewer police officers died in the line of duty in 2008 compared to last year, reflecting better training and tactics, two law enforcement support groups reported Sunday.

The findings reversed the trend for 2007 when there was a spike in police deaths, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and another group, Concerns of Police Survivors.

The groups reported fatalities through Sunday.

Officer deaths this year totaled 140, compared to 181 in 2007.

Gunfire deaths dropped to 41 officers this year, compared to 68 in 2007. The 2008 number represented the lowest total since 1956 — when there were 35 — and was far below the peak of 156 officers killed by gunfire in 1973.

Traffic-related deaths also declined, with 71 officers killed this year, compared to 83 in 2007. It was the 11th consecutive year that more officers were killed in traffic incidents than from any other cause.

More than 61 percent of this year’s fatalities involved accidents and 39 percent resulted from criminal acts.

The only downside was deaths of women officers: 15 in 2008 compared to 6 a year ago. More women officers than before are in harm’s way, the groups said, because they’re taking on the same dangerous assignments as men.

Craig Floyd, chairman of the Memorial Fund, said in an interview that officers are getting better training and equipment.

More than 70 percent of policemen use bullet-resistant vests compared to fewer than half a decade ago, he said.

And officers are making better use of Taser stun guns and other non-lethal weapons that keep them a safe distance from violent offenders, Floyd said.

To avoid traffic deaths, officers are better trained in high-speed and defensive driving techniques. Police vehicles now have better safety equipment, including side air bags and a substance installed near the gas tank to suppress fire when the vehicle is struck.

The states with the most deaths were Texas with 14, followed by California with 12, then Florida and Pennsylvania with eight apiece,

Other factors cited by Floyd for the reduction in police fatalities:

_A record 2.3 million adult criminals behind bars, according to a study released earlier this year by the Pew Center on the States.

_A 2007 violent crime rate that held steady at the 2005 level, according to the Justice Department.

The Memorial Fund honors law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty and is in charge of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington.

Concerns of Police Survivors provides support and counseling to surviving family members of officers killed in the line of duty.

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On the Net:

Memorial Fund: http://www.nleomf.org

Police Survivors: http://www.nationalcops