Police on alert after riots over rail slaying

OAKLAND, Calif. — Heavy police presence greeted Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) commuters Thursday, a day after more than 100 people were arrested in violent protests over the fatal shooting of an unarmed man by a transit-police officer.

At least three cars were set on fire, store windows were smashed and a police cruiser was vandalized in what started as a peaceful demonstration Wednesday over the Jan. 1 shooting of Oscar Grant, who was black. Police in riot gear threw tear gas to try to break up the demonstration.

"The crowd started to become more agitated, more hostile, started throwing stuff at the police," said Oakland Police spokesman Jeff Thomason. He said charges against those arrested include inciting a riot, assault on a police officer, vandalism, rioting and unlawful assembly.

Extra police were deployed to East Bay stations Thursday. Officers patrolled BART headquarters to ensure calm during the agency's morning meeting, where many black leaders expressed outrage over the killing of Grant, 22.

An officer identified as Johannes Mehserle, 27, shot Grant on a BART station platform after responding to reports of men fighting on a train, police said. Officers had pulled Grant and a few other men out of the train. Grant was lying face down on the platform when he was shot.

The shooting and events leading up to it were captured on amateur videos that have been broadcast on television.

Mehserle resigned from the transit agency shortly before he was supposed to be interviewed by investigators Wednesday. Mehserle's attorney did not respond to calls for comment.

Some experts who viewed the video clips speculated Mehserle fired his gun because he believed Grant had a deadly weapon, while others think the officer had mistaken his handgun for a stun gun.

"If he was under stress, he would not be able to distinguish between a Taser and his firearm," said Bruce Siddle, founder of PPCT Management Systems, an Illinois company that trains law-enforcement officers in use of force.

Mehserle was armed with a Taser, a device that officers had only been using for a few weeks, BART police Chief Gary Gee said. Officers are prohibited from wearing the devices near their guns to avoid confusion, Gee said.

BART police and the district attorney are investigating the shooting, and Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums asked city police to investigate.

A $25 million wrongful-death claim, the likely precursor to a lawsuit, was filed against BART on behalf of Grant's mother and 4-year-old daughter, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The family also wants prosecutors to file criminal charges against Mehserle.

"There were racial slurs directed at the young men," family attorney John Burris said Thursday. "But I have no evidence that this particular officer (Mehserle) directed racial slurs toward Oscar Grant."

Police have not classified the confrontation as a hate crime.