Former BART Officer Speaks In First Interview

The video has been seen by millions of people, but the public has never heard from former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle, until now.

Mehserle shot and killed Oscar Grant on a BART platform on January 1, 2009. Other than in court, he has not talked publicly about what happened that fateful day.

In an exclusive interview with KTVU Reporter Rita Williams, Mehserle gave his first-hand account of his fatal encounter with Grant for the first time.

Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in early July and faces sentencing in Los Angeles on Friday Nov. 5.

KTVU reporter Rita Williams has pursued an interview with Mehserle since Grant lost his life at the Fruitvale BART Station early New Year’s Day in 2009. And this week, Mehserle told Williams his story.

The former BART police officer and convicted felon has been an inmate in the Los Angeles County Jail for almost four months.

Mehserle said he agreed to the interview with KTVU in order to have an opportunity to give his side.

“Over the last couple of years, I haven't really had a chance to say anything,” explained Mehserle. “I know for most people who don't know me, I've been portrayed differently than who I actually am. This is more for the public to see who I am. I'm not asking any sympathy at all.”

No subject was off limits during the interview. Mehserle's attorney Mike Rains sat nearby but never interrupted.

When asked if he was a racist or a cold-blooded killer as some people see him, Mehserle quickly answered with a polite “No ma’am.”

“I'm just peaceful by my own nature,” said the former BART police officer.

But that's not the image millions of people have after viewing cell phone video from early New Year's Day last year, showing Mehserle firing a single shot into Oscar Grant's back as he lay face down on the station platform.

When asked how he lives with what happened, Mehserle maintains his version of the incident that he testified about during the trial.

“Well, I know it wasn't intentional,” said Mehserle. “The decision I made was to Tase Mr. Grant. It wasn't to shoot him and I know that.”

Back in July, 12 jurors agreed. Mehserle was found not guilty of murder, but guilty of involuntary manslaughter with added time for using a gun.

Deputies handcuffed him in court and he's been in jail ever since awaiting sentencing. As Mehserle tells it, he was surprised not only that he was led away in cuffs, but that he was convicted at all.

“I didn't expect to walk through those doors,” said Mehserle. “I didn't think I'd be convicted at all.”

When asked if he thought that the jury was wrong, Mehserle replied, “I think so, yes, ma'am.”

Mehserle said about all he knew when he arrived at the Fruitvale BART platform that morning was the initial call: a reported fight on a train. Then he heard the noise.

"It was pretty chaotic," remembered Mehserle. "It didn't sound good from the get-go."

When asked if anybody told him anything when he got there, the former BART officer said the confusion made communication difficult.

"There was so much going on it wasn't a matter of … there weren't any instructions given such as 'Do this, do this,'" said Mehserle.

Twice, Mehserle took out and then re-holstered his Taser. He said he didn't notice that the man he now knows was Oscar Grant took this picture.

He said Officer Tony Pirone – who was first on the scene – pointed at two men against the wall and told Mehserle to cuff them. He said he handcuffed Jackie Bryson and turned to Grant.

“I guess that's when everything started going south,” remembered Mehserle. “As far as trying to handcuff him, he went down and I was just trying to gain control of his hands.”

When asked if Grant’s hands were still under him when he shot what he thought was his Taser, Mehserle said he was uncertain.

“I don't know about his left hand, but I know his right hand was in his pocket,” said Mehserle.

When asked what he thought Grant had in his pocket, Mehserle said, "Until you can rule out 100 percent it's not a gun, it would be silly to assume. That's how police officers die."

Mehserle said it was this point when he announced, "I'm going to Tase him."

Then Mehserle pulled the trigger.

“I thought my Taser had malfunctioned. I thought something was wrong with my Taser and I saw my gun,” remembered Mehserle.

When asked if he saw Oscar Grant, Mehserle said he did.

“I noticed that I had shot him. He was yelling and I could see the hole,” said Mehserle. “I was just in complete disbelief. I remember trying to calm him down. He was saying something to the effect of, 'You shot me.'"

After a pause, Mehserle continued: “And I remember just telling him calm down and I remember I went down and I put pressure on the bullet hole. And then when he started losing consciousness, I knew it was getting worse.”

An emotional Mehserle paused again as his eyes began to tear up at the memory.

“”I was just trying to figure out why did this happen,” said Mehserle.

When Williams asked if he was trying to help him, Mehserle replied, “Yes, ma'am. I was just praying he'd be OK.”

But Grant wasn't OK. After just two and a half minutes on the BART platform that morning, Johannes Mehserle had fired a single shot that ended one man's life and forever changed his own.