CrimeWatch

OAKLAND (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ― The former Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer charged in the shooting death of an unarmed man was freed Friday on $3 million bail, authorities said.

Johannes Mehserle, 27, posted bail and was released around 3:45 p.m. at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, according to Alameda County Sheriff's Sgt. J.D. Nelson.

He had been in custody since his Jan. 13 arrest in the Zephyr Cove area of Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

Mehserle has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder in the New Year's Day shooting on a train platform at Oakland's Fruitvale BART station.

Prosecutors contend Mehserle shot 22-year-old Oscar Grant III in the back while the man lay facedown on the ground. But the defense maintained he may have mistakenly pulled his pistol instead of a stun gun.

At the time of the shooting, Mehserle and other BART police officers were responding to reports that two groups of young men were fighting on a train.
 
The shooting, caught on amateur videos and broadcast on TV and the Internet, has sparked numerous protests, including several that resulted in arrests for arson and vandalism. Protesters outside Mehserle's bail hearing last week demanded that he remain jailed.

Mehserle's family also has reported death threats and said they were forced to leave their homes.

On Friday afternoon, about 150 protesters already were gathered outside Oakland's City Hall for a demonstration when news broke of Mehserle's release. Oakland police spokesman Jeff Thomason said extra officers were put on the street as a precaution.

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums called on protesters to remain peaceful.

"I call again for peace in our streets. In challenging violence, we must not engage in violence. In challenging injustice, let us not engage in unjust acts," Dellums said.

He continued, "In Oakland, peace and protest are compatible, but we will not allow violence and vandalism in our city. We must treat each other and our city with respect and dignity while the outcome of this case is determined by judge and jury."

John Burris, who is representing Grant's family in a $25 million wrongful death claim against BART, also urged calm.

"We hope the public will not create any social unrest as a consequence of this," Burris said. The family wants peace and the process to flow in the normal course of events."

The protest group marched seven blocks down Broadway to the Oakland Police Department headquarters and then marched back to City Hall before the protest broke up about 5:30 p.m., Thomason said.

He described the march as mostly peaceful, and noted there was only one arrest for vandalism.

"There were more officers than protesters," Thomason said

Meantime, it was unclear where Mehserle headed after posting bail. The sheriff's office told CBS 5 that Mehserle left the jail with a bail bondsman from Sacramento.

His attorney, Michael Rains, did not immediately return a call, and a judge has imposed a temporary gag order in the case until the next court hearing, on Feb. 10.

At a Jan. 30 bail hearing, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Morris Jacobson said he set the high amount in part because he considered Mehserle a flight risk after the former officer fled to Nevada during the initial investigation.

The judge also ordered, "If he makes bail he is not to possess or control any firearms, bullets, weapons or other dangerous weapons."

Court records show Mehserle surrendered his two guns in order to obtain Friday's release.

A court document filed by Rains that was made available Friday indicates that David Trumbull was designated to have power of attorney to transfer Mehserle's weapons. The power of attorney form was witnessed by a notary public.

On the form, Trumbull said Mehserle surrendered a .45-caliber Glock semi-automatic pistol and a .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol. Trumbull also listed their model numbers and serial numbers.

Trumbull said the firearms belonging to Mehserle were transferred to his possession earlier this week.

Mehserle is scheduled to return to court on March 23 for a preliminary hearing aimed at determining if there's enough evidence to order him to stand trial.

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