Civil trial to begin in earlier Mehserle case (the BART cop who killed Oscar Grant)

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Source: SF Chronicle

Jury selection is set to begin today in a federal civil rights case brought by a man who said he was roughed up by former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle about seven weeks before Mehserle fatally shot unarmed train rider Oscar Grant on New Year's Day 2009.

Mehserle, 29, who was released after serving a two-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter, plans to attend the trial and testify that he acted to protect a fellow officer.

Opening statements could be heard as soon as Tuesday at U.S. District Court in San Francisco in the case, which may shed light on how BART approached use-of-force cases before the Grant killing spurred a raft of reforms.

Kenneth Carrethers, 43, is seeking damages against Mehserle and four other BART officers in connection with a late-night encounter at the Coliseum/Oakland Airport Station on Nov. 15, 2008. By all accounts, Carrethers, whose car had recently been burglarized outside BART, berated the crew of officers as useless.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/21/BA3G1M0JAS.DTL