Rally to Support Johannes Mehserle Planned Monday for Walnut Creek

Former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle apparently has some organized supporters, too, and they are planning a rally in front of Walnut Creek's courthouse Monday from 2 to 5 p.m. 

On the Facebook Page, Support for Johannes Mehserle, the group says that Mehserle was "wrongly convicted" in the shooting death of BART passenger Oscar Grant, calling the shooting of Grant on January 1, 2009 "accidental" while Mehserle was on active duty. 

The group noted that after the verdict was announced Thursday, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums "got the feds on speed dial to launch an investigation against Johannes to see if Oscar Grant's civil rights were violated."

A Los Angeles jury found Mehserle guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Mehserle was one of a group of police officers responding to a report of a disturbance at the Fruitvale BART station early that New Year's morning. Mehserle shot Grant, who was unarmed, while Grant was lying face down on the platform. Mehserle's defense is that he thought he was holding his Taser, not his pistol, when he fired and that he planned to stun Grant.

The Facebook group says: 

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. IT'S TIME TO STOP THROWING OUR OFFICERS UNDER THE BUS. ITS TIME TO STEP UP AND SUPORT JOHANNES AND OUR OFFICERS AND TAKE A STAND. OSCAR GRANT WAS RESISTING ARREST. JOHANNES MEHSERLE TOLD THE TRUTH!