Since I live in Northern California I suppose it is almost mandatory that I post something more on the verdict in the BART police shooting case.

Now let me begin by stating that while I obviously cannot put myself in their place, I do understand the frustration and anger in the African American community over the perception that this is another example of a white power structure supporting one of its own against a poor black man. In addition, while Mr. Grant certainly could have reacted more calmly to the situation he came nowhere close to deserving what happened.

Like everyone who has seen the video I was horrified and sickened at what I saw, and there is simply no justification to fully excuse Officer Mehserle.

Having said that, I would point out a couple of mitigating facts that I think are worth considering here.

To begin with, while the jury did not have any black members, it did have 3 Hispanic and 1 Asian member, and possibly an addition minority since one person on the jury declined to state their race. So if racial bias played a role here, 4 minorities (who presumably also have historic issues with the police) voted for the verdict.

In addition, while the verdict may seem light, it is actually fairly unusual for there to even be charges in cases like this. In 2003 a Hispanic officer handcuffed a Hispanic suspect and placed in her patrol car. She then drew what she thought was her Taser but turned out to be her Glock. She shot and killed the suspect and no charges were filed because it was deemed a tragic mistake.

Again, I don’t dismiss your frustrations but it is worth considering the racial makeup of the jury as well as the way these cases have been addressed in the past. This does not mean you should not express your view and vent your frustrations. That is what our democratic republic is all about.

But on the topic of peaceful protest, I have to also address a topic on which I think the Oakland community is getting a bad rap. When reading about the fact that violence broke out last night the stories all talk about how ‘the protests’ turned violent.

The truth of the matter is, at least from what I’ve been able to tell, that for the most part the protests remained peaceful. It was a small group of agitators, anarchists and other troublemakers, many from out of town or out of state who came down just for an excuse to smash things and steal stuff.

If I were a leader in the Oakland community I’d be sure to raise hell over the fact that these outside jerks were not only making me look bad but messing up MY neighborhood.

Just a few thoughts for your consideration.