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OAKLAND (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ― A judge agreed Friday to move the trial for a former Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer charged in the killing of an unarmed man because of the extensive publicity the case has received and the "high degree of political turmoil" it has generated.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Morris Jacobson ruled that the murder trial of Johannes Mehserle would be moved out of Oakland to ensure an impartial jury hears the case.

The 27-year-old Mehserle is charged with the shooting of 22-year-old Oscar Grant III at BART's Fruitvale station in Oakland early New Year's Day. Officers were called to the station in response to reports of a fight on a train.

In a 28-page ruling, Jacobson said the circumstances of the slaying, the violent protests that erupted in Oakland after it happened, and the "massive in scope" media scrutiny of the case justified granting the defense request for a change of venue.

He said the combination of those factors "makes it reasonably probable that defendant (Mehserle) cannot get a fair trial in this county."

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums called for calm in the wake of the judge's decision and said police would be out in force to deal with any problems.

"I know that there are many in our community who disagree with the decision, believing that justice can be served in this community," Dellums said. "However, whether we agree or disagree with the ruling... My fervent plea is that this decision does not cause chaos and upheaval in our city."

Oakland police were placed on heightened alert, prepared for the possibility of angry protesters.

"Because of the past demonstrations,we understand that people have high emotions in this case," said OPD spokesman Jeff Thomason. "That's why we want to make sure we have more officers in hand, just in case."

Mehserle's attorney, Michael Rains, had argued for a change of venue in the case because of what he described as excessive media coverage and racial tensions.

Rains told Jacobson at a hearing on the defense's change of venue motion last week that if Mehserle's trial wasn't moved out of Alameda County because of all the pretrial publicity it had received, "justice won't be done."

Noting that Mehserle is white and Grant was black, Jacobson said in his decision that the shooting "is viewed by many as being a case about race relations between the police and minority communities" and therefore is "inseparably entwined with a broad scale political controversy."

"The nature of the homicide is rare and nearly unique for a charged homicide case in that the defendant is accused of committing a murder in the course and scope of his duties as a uniformed police officer while making an arrest," Jacobson wrote. "Further, the nature of this crime has an implied racial aspect to it in that the defendant is Caucasian and the victim was African American."

Alameda County prosecutor David Stein had argued for keeping the trial in Oakland.

Stein claimed the defense's change of venue motion was "premature, unwarranted and unjustified" and said a survey by jury experts hired by the defense that supported moving the trial was "neither credible or reliable."

The judge's ruling said he had doubts about the objectivity of the two jury consultants who were hired by the defense: Edward Bronson, professor emeritus of political science at California State University, Chico, and Craig New, a consultant from Portland, Oregon.

But Jacobson said he thought some of the results of a survey Bronson conducted of 400 potential jurors in Alameda County were credible, such as that 97.7 of respondents said they are familiar with the case and more than 70 percent of them have prejudged Mehserle's guilt or innocence.

Mehserle, who is free on $3 million bail, has pleaded not guilty in the case.

Rains admitted during Mehserle's preliminary hearing in June that Mehserle killed Grant but claimed that it was "a tragic accident" because Mehserle meant to use his Taser device on Grant and fired his gun by mistake.

Grant's mother, Wanda Johnson, said Friday that she was "extremely disappointed, but not surprised" by the judge's decision. The trial should be held in the city where her son died, Johnson maintained.

"It shows we still live in a black and white world. Nothing changes," she said.

Oakland City Councilmember Desley Brooks expressed anger at the judge's change of venue ruling, saying simply: "It's outrageous!"

Brooks said most of the community outrage was expressed in a peaceful and productive manner.

"The demonstrations that the community organized; the town hall meetings, the sitting down with BART to negotiate corrections to their system; the meeting with our elected official, District Attorney Tom Orloff - are constitutionally protected rights. They were organized and responsible," Brooks said. "No one engaged in any violence."

"If the judge is saying those demonstrations were reasons for the change of venue, then what does that say about freedom of speech in America?"

However, the judge noted that Brooks and Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson had both publicly described Grant's death as "an execution."
 
Jacobson said "political factors have no place in a criminal proceeding" and, when they appear, they constitute an independent reason for a venue change.

Michael Cardoza, a veteran defense lawyer who has been following the closely watched case, said moving the trial to a new place made "imminent sense." Even if enough unbiased jurors could be found, they might fear retaliation and be afraid to serve, Cardoza said.

Jacobson in his ruling noted that violent protests in January and more recent protests last week when he held a four-day hearing on the defense's change of venue motion show how impassioned the local community is about the shooting.

Observing that some protestors said last week that they planned to maintain their presence at Alameda County courthouses "to see that justice is served," Jacobson said "at least some jurors are sure to be frightened, intimidated and influenced by this atmosphere."

The new location for the trial, scheduled to start on Nov. 2, will be decided over the next few weeks once a jurisdiction with the ability to accommodate a well-attended proceeding and a demographic profile similar to Alameda County's is located.

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