Police Officer Sentenced To Two Years In Prison After Conviction For Involuntary Manslaughter – P.C. 192(B)

Johannes Mehserle, a former transit police officer convicted of involuntary manslaughter for fatally shooting an unarmed man on an Oakland train station platform, was sentenced to two years in prison.

After the sentencing was announced, the victim’s mother emerged from the Los Angeles courtroom muttering, “Nothing, he got nothing!” The family declined to talk to reporters. Mehserle had faced up to 14 years in prison for his involuntary manslaughter conviction that included a gun enhancement that increased his sentence.

Supporters of the victim stood outside the courthouse chanting, “Mehserle is guilty, guilty. The whole damn system is guilty, guilty.”

Responding to a report of a fight in the early hours of New Year’s Day 2009, Mehserle, 28, shot and killed Oscar J. Grant III, 22, as he laid face-down on the platform floor. During his trial in Los Angeles, Mehserle contended that he had mistakenly used his firearm when intending to pull out his electric Taser.

Prosecutors argued that Mehserle did intend to reach for his handgun as he tried to handcuff an unresisting Grant. They also argued the fact that the officer’s holster was specially designed to prevent the easy release of his firearm and contrasted the light-weight, yellow Taser gun compared with the heavier, black Sig Sauer handgun that Mehserle fired.

Video footage taken by several witnesses shows Mehserle firing one round into the back of Grant. The incident sparked racially charged rioting in Oakland which erupted again when a Los Angeles jury acquitted Mehserle of murder but found him guilty of the lesser crime of involuntary manslaughter.

A shackled Mehserle stood before the judge and apologized for the shooting, maintaining that the incident was accidental and not racially motivated.

The trial had been moved from Alameda County to Los Angeles because the extensive media coverage and the violent public jeopardized Mehserle’s chances of receiving a fair trial.

Back in Oakland, where a memorial was being set up for Grant, his grandfather, Oscar Grant Sr., 65, discouraged violent protest in light of the sentence announcement.

“My message to the public is don’t use this as a reason to destroy this city,” he said.

Involuntary Manslaughter Under California PC Section 192(b)

Involuntary manslaughter under California Penal Code Section 192(b) is an unlawful killing of a human being that was unintentional. A killing of this kind occurs during the commission of an unlawful act (although not a felon) or during the commission of a lawful act that poses the threat of death or great bodily harm if carried out without due caution or circumspection. If convicted, the statutory punishment for involuntary manslaughter includes punishment in state prison for two, three, or four years. However, a longer sentence of up to 10 additional years may be incurred if a firearm was used in the commission of the crime. See California Penal Code Section 12022.5.

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