— Deliberations in the trial of a former Bay Area Rapid Transit officer
accused of murder in the shooting of an unarmed man on an
The jury’s deliberations were postponed Tuesday
after a juror called in sick. Another juror has a previously scheduled
vacation, so the court will seat an alternate when court proceedings
resume Wednesday.
The new juror sat through the trial but has not
participated in deliberations, so they will have to start over,
according to a Los Angeles Superior Court spokeswoman.
In a racially charged case, the jury will decide whether
Prosecutors have shown jurors videos taken by
witnesses that show Mehserle standing over Grant, aiming his handgun
and firing a single round into Grant’s back. But the defense contends
that the shooting was a tragic accident in which Mehserle mistakenly
drew his handgun instead of an electric Taser gun on his belt.
Legal experts say prosecutors face a high legal
hurdle in convincing jurors to convict an officer of murder in an
on-duty police shooting.
To obtain a murder conviction, prosecutors must
prove that Mehserle intended to kill Grant or acted with a conscious
disregard for life. Second-degree murder carries a sentence of 15 years
to life in prison.
———
(c) 2010, Los Angeles Times.
Visit the Los Angeles Times on the Internet at http://www.latimes.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
