Tag Archives: alameda-county

Stop The Violence–Another Officer Faces ZERO Charges After Shoooting Oakland Teen

Another grown azz Man thought his life was in danger and took a teens life. According to The Huffington Post : The Oakland police officer who shot and killed a black teenager earlier this year will not face charges in a case that has touched off a lightning storm of controversy between the city’s African American community and a troubled police force on the brink of a federal takeover. On Tuesday, the Alameda County District Attorney’s office released an 18-page report on the incident, stating that Officer Miguel Masso acted in self defense when he shot Alan Blueford three times in the torso after the 18-year old Skyline High School student pointed a gun at him. “Officer Masso actually and reasonably believed that his life was in danger after he had made eye contact with Mr. Blueford and that if he did not shoot, he would be killed,” Senior District Attorney Keneth Mifsud wrote. The report states that on May 6 of this year, Masso and his partner Officer Joe Fesmire were driving in their patrol car and saw Blueford walking with two others in Oakland’s Castlemont neighborhood, allegedly in the process of a drug deal, when the officers noticed that Blueford looked as if he might be concealing a gun in his waistband. Masso and Fesmire detained the trio but Blueford soon fled on foot. Masso gave chase for a number of blocks before the teen allegedly pulled an object that Masso identified as a handgun from his pants and pointed it at Masso. In front of a private residence where a birthday party was underway, Blueford tripped, fell to the ground and again pointed a gun at the officer. Masso fired four shots, three of which fatally struck Blueford and the other which hit his own foot. “I was scared,” said Masso, who claimed this was the first time anyone had ever pointed a gun at him. “It scared the living crap out of me.” Masso is currently on medical leave. A coroner’s report on Blueford found no gunpowder residue on his hands and no drugs or alcohol in his bloodstream. Police found a gun containing Blueford’s fingerprints on the ground near where he was shot that was stolen from the home of a police officer last year. The victim’s father, Adam Blueford, told the San Francisco Chronicle that he was disappointed at the district attorney’s decision not to charge Masso. “We thought it might go this way,” he said. “My son didn’t commit any crime at all other than running. This is alarming.” The Blueford family has led a series of contentious protests in recent months. “Alan cannot speak, so I’m going to speak for Alan,” said his mother, Jeralynn Blueford, at a protest in front of an police substation last month. “[OPD’s] job is to protect and serve–I was not served and Alan was not protected. We are about standing for justice.” The Oakland PD REFUSED to publicly release a police report about the incident and we’re told there have been different reports on whether or not Blueford ever fired a gun. Folks in the community believe this is all part of a police coverup. Images via facebook

Follow this link:
Stop The Violence–Another Officer Faces ZERO Charges After Shoooting Oakland Teen

When The Checks Start Coming In: JaMarcus Russell Pays Off $224,000 Tax Lien

Good for this guy. Nothing like a “lil positivity” to start the morning! NFL bust JaMarcus Russell is still paying for the mess he made in Oakland … but this time it’s a good thing. TMZ has learned … the #1 overall pick in the 2007 Draft was hit with a $223,180.05 lien by the State of California Tax Board for failing to pay his taxes in 2008 … when he still played for the Raiders. But this story has a happy ending, because according to court documents filed in Alameda County, CA — JaMarcus recently paid off his debt the lien has been released. Russell still has ties to Oakland — where a $2.4 million mansion he owns is still in foreclosure and is set to be auctioned off next month … unless he decides to pay off the debts and penalties. Nice to see someone paying their bills! Now we’ll wait and see what happens to his crib. Via TMZ

View post:
When The Checks Start Coming In: JaMarcus Russell Pays Off $224,000 Tax Lien

BART Officer Convicted of Involuntary ManSlaughter

A former transit police officer who fatally shot an unarmed man at an Oakland train station was convicted of involuntary manslaughter Thursday, capping a racially charged case that raised fears in the Bay Area of possible violence after the verdict. Prosecutors accused the ex-officer of intentionally firing his handgun as he tried to handcuff Oscar J. Grant III on New Year's Day 2009. Johannes Mehserle, 28, tearfully testified that the shooting was a tragic accident caused when he mistakenly grabbed his firearm instead of an electric Taser weapon during a struggle with Grant. The shooting was captured on video by several witnesses. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXWSgG-KNng Mehserle, who is white, fired a single round into the back of Grant, who was black and was lying face-down on the station platform. Mehserle resigned a week after the shooting. The killing provoked protests and violence in Oakland. The case, which has drawn comparisons to the videotaped beating of Rodney G. King that ultimately triggered riots in Los Angeles in 1992, was moved to Los Angeles for trial amid concern about the extensive media coverage of the slaying in the Bay Area. Many civil rights activists considered the case a test of how the justice system treats police officers accused of abusing minorities. The trial also captured the attention of law enforcement officers who feared that a guilty verdict could raise the stakes for cops who make mistakes. The shooting occurred soon after police responded to reports of a fight on a train stopped at the Fruitvale Station. Grant and four friends were detained by a different police officer who prosecutors said used excessive force against the men. Mehserle arrived on the platform after the men had been detained. Alameda County Deputy Dist. Atty. David R. Stein rejected the idea that the shooting was a mistake, telling jurors that Mehserle's holster was specially designed to prevent easy release of his firearm. The prosecutor contrasted the light, bright yellow Taser gun with the heavier black Sig Sauer handgun that Mehserle fired. “He let his aggression dictate his conduct,” Stein told jurors. The prosecutor urged jurors to find Mehserle guilty of second-degree murder, pointing out that the officer never told his colleagues that night that the shooting was an accident. Prosecutors in Los Angeles have not won a murder conviction in a police shooting case since 1983. Mehserle testified that he intended to use his Taser because he believed Grant, 22, might be reaching for a gun in his pants pocket. While the officer's firearm was on his right side, the Taser was in a holster on the left side of his belt but angled so that it could be pulled out with his right hand. Two people, including a friend of Grant's, testified that they heard the officer say he intended to use his Taser shortly before the shooting. In at least six other instances, officers have said they made the same mistake of firing a handgun when they intended to use a Taser. Numerous witnesses said Mehserle looked shocked after the gunshot. Defense attorney Michael L. Rains said video footage shows his client holding his head in his hands in despair. “He's sick to his stomach,” Rains told jurors, “because he has shot a man who did not deserve to be shot.” Prosecutors accused Johannes Mehserle of intentionally firing his handgun as he tried to handcuff Oscar J. Grant III on New Year's Day 2009. Mehserle testified that he thought he was pulling out his electric Taser weapon and not a firearm. added by: Stoneyroad