Ex-officer charged with murder in BART shooting

(CNN) -- A former transit police officer accused of shooting an unarmed man at a Northern California commuter train station has been arrested and charged with murder, an Alameda County district attorney said Wednesday.
Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff speaks at a press conference announcing murder charges.

Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff speaks at a press conference announcing murder charges.

"What I feel the evidence indicates is an unlawful killing done by an intentional act," district attorney Tom Orloff told reporters at a news conference.

"From the evidence we have there's nothing that would mitigate that to something lower than a murder," he added. "The murder charge was the appropriate charge given the state of the evidence."

Former Bay Area Rapid Transit Officer Johannes Mehserle, 27, was arrested Tuesday evening in Nevada, Orloff said.

He waived extradition and police officers were transporting him back to California on Wednesday.

Orloff said Mehserle's attorney has invoked his client's right to remain silent.

"In terms of an interview at this point in time, our hands are tied," he said. Video Watch Orloff speak about the murder charges »

Mehserle was arrested on a fugitive warrant charging homicide in Nevada.

He is accused of the shooting of Oscar Grant III at an Oakland, California, station on New Year's Day. The incident was captured on video by several witnesses and spurred violent protests in the northern California city.

Mehserle, 27, was taken into custody in Douglas County, Nevada at about 7 p.m., Sgt. Dan Coverly of Douglas County Sheriff's Office told CNN affiliate KGO-TV in San Francisco.

Referring to Mehserle's arrest, BART said, "This comes after the BART Police Department conducted a thorough investigation that involved nine detectives, which BART Police turned over to District Attorney Thomas Orloff on Monday, January 12."

Leads led investigators to Mehserle in Zephyr Cove, Nevada. Contacted through his attorney, Mehserle surrendered.

Jail staff report that Mehserle has cooperated and is in a segregated area and on a precautionary health and welfare watch.

Mehserle resigned from his job as a BART police officer days after the shooting.

Grant, a 22-year-old father, was killed on New Year's Day in a crowded BART train station. Police had been called to the Fruitvale station after passengers complained about fights on a train and took Grant and several other people off the train once they arrived.

Videos from witnesses show Mehserle shooting Grant in the back as another BART officer kneeled on the man. The shooting spawned public outrage and a string of protests that led to more than a hundred riot-related arrests.
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Police have not said whether Grant had been involved in the fight.

The Oakland Police Department is running its own investigation into the killing, at the request of Mayor Ron Dellums, Officer Jeff Thomason said Wednesday.

Source: cnn.com