What Was Officer Mesherle Thinking?

Former Oakland, California BART Police Officer Johannes Mesherle goes on trial this week for the pointblank shooting death of Oscar Grant III on an Oakland subway platform last year.  The homicide of Mr. Grant by Officer Mesherle is sensational because Mesherle is white and Grant balck.  More importantly the killing was caught on video and went "viral."

Officer Mesherle's legal outcome will be determined by a jury which will try to judge what was in Officer Mesherl's mind, did he have a criminal intent to kill Oscar Grant.  Mesherle's attorneys will argue that Mesherle mistakenly thought he had his taser in hand when he pulled the trigger that killed Grant, Mesherle was legally allowed to use a Taser in this scenario according to the Oakland police.

Watch the video if you have the stomach for it.  Whatever you think of Mesherle's criminal intent, the video documents the abuse of police power and the outcome was the death of twenty-two year old, Oscar Grant III.