involuntary manslaughter Options

[*futura*]

A jury found former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle guilty Thursday of involuntary manslaughter, concluding that he did not intend to kill train rider Oscar Grant when he shot him in the back on New Year's Day 2009 but acted so recklessly that he showed a disregard for Grant's life.

The verdict was an all-but-unprecedented instance of a police officer being convicted for an on-duty shooting. But it deeply disappointed Grant's relatives, who said the video-recorded shooting was a murder and that Mehserle deserved a sentence years longer than the one he is likely to receive.

"My son was murdered," said Wanda Johnson, Grant's mother, outside the downtown Los Angeles courthouse where the trial was moved to escape heavy publicity in the Bay Area. "He was murdered and the law has not held the officer accountable."

The jury also found that Mehserle, 28, had used a gun during the crime. In all, he could be sentenced to five to 14 years in prison.

[full story]

Anyone have thoughts about this?

[mipadi]

If the roles were reversed and a civilian "accidentally" shot an on-duty cop, you can bet he'd get more than involuntary manslaughter. But hey, police protect their own; there's a reason policeman dump so much money into police fraternities.

A part of me does believe the shooting was an accident, but if so, that just shows how grossly incompetent this police officer was. At least his conviction should mean he can never own a firearm, because, you know, obviously this guy doesn't know how to handle one properly.