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| Ex-officer charged in US shooting |
| A former police officer in California has been charged with the murder of an unarmed black man at a railway station.
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| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
, 15-January-2009
6:35:52 AM |
| Johannes Mehserle, a transport officer at the time, is accused of shooting Oscar Grant, 22, in the back as he lay face down on a train platform.
Mr Grant was among several people taken off a San Francisco to Oakland train when police intervened to stop a fight.
The 1 January shooting, filmed on mobile phones, has provoked frequent and at times violent protests.
"At this point, what I feel the evidence indicates is an unlawful killing done by an intentional act and from the evidence we have there is nothing that would mitigate that to something lower than a murder," Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff said.
It is rare for a murder charge to be brought against a police officer for an incident that happens while he or she is on duty, correspondents say.
Mr Mehserle's lawyer, Christopher Miller, said he was confident his client would be cleared, as "all the circumstances of that chaotic night become clear".
Video recorded by passengers on their mobile phones appear to show Mr Grant sitting calmly on the platform at Fruitvale station in Oakland after he and several others were pulled off a train by police.
He is then forced to lie face down, there is a struggle, Mr Mehserle draws his weapon and shoots Mr Grant once in the back.
Video of the shooting has circulated widely on the internet, increasing tensions between police officers and many African-American residents.
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