SF Bay transit cop convicted in killing released

A white former San Francisco Bay area transit officer convicted in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man that has drawn continuing protest was released from jail early Monday after serving one year of a two-year sentence, officials said.

Johannes Mehserle managed to slip away from the Los Angeles County's Twin Towers jail shortly after midnight unseen by a few protesters in the street as well as waiting reporters.

Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore told The Associated Press that Mehserle was freed from custody at 12:01 a.m. Monday.

Mehserle's attorney, Michael Rains, told KTVU-TV on Monday that precautions were taken because there were too many safety concerns to let his client just walk out of jail.

When asked if Mehserle can go home again, Rains said sounded optimistic.

"Well, we don't know. We'll know more about that in the next 10 days to two weeks," Rains said. "We hope he will be able to go home because he has always called Northern California home and he really doesn't want to call any place else home.

"But if he can't go home, he's going to call another place home and he will go there with his family and he will live a productive life."

Mehserle, 29, was convicted last July of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Grant, 22, on a Bay Area Rapid Transit train station platform in Oakland on New Year's Day 2009.

He served his time in Los Angeles after his attention-getting trial was moved to Southern California.

The shooting continues to spark debate, racial tension and occasional protests that have turned violent. Last fall, more than 150 people were arrested in Oakland hours after Mehserle's sentencing.

On Sunday, about 300 protesters held a fairly peaceful demonstration in downtown Oakland as they vented their continued frustration over the shooting and the Mehserle's release.

"The people know it was wrong," said Jabari Shaw, 32, a protester who had also attended Mehserle's trial. "As much as we want justice, we're still not getting it."

A judge ruled Friday that Mehserle should be given credit for time served and good conduct.

The shooting was recorded by bystanders, and video posted online showed the Bay Area Rapid Transit officer firing a bullet into the back of Grant, 22, as he lay face down after being pulled off a train, suspected of fighting.

The videos were subsequently used as evidence during Mehserle's murder trial and posted online, further stoking the racial tensions brought on by the shooting.

Facing a second-degree murder charge and a maximum 14 years in prison, Mehserle tearfully testified at his trial that he meant to use his stun gun instead of his .40-caliber pistol.

Jurors found that while Mehserle didn't mean to kill Grant, his behavior was so negligent that it was criminal. He received a two-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter.

Grant's uncle, Cephus "Bobby" Johnson, was among those waiting in vain outside the L.A. County jail late Sunday night to witness Mehserle's release.

"There's much rage in our community," he said. "It's a shame that our children still have fear from police officers that come into our communities."

Grant supporters in Los Angeles later Monday plan to march to the U.S. Attorney's office and demand that the Department of Justice look into possible federal civil rights violation.

A civil lawsuit against Mehserle and several other officers involved with Grant's shooting is still pending.

Grant's family attorney, John Burris, on Sunday urged the Oakland crowd before their march downtown to remain peaceful as they exercised their freedom of speech.

"There's still an opportunity for all of us to continue our sense of outrage, our sense of frustration at the (criminal justice) system and do what we can through public speaking, through organizing, community involvement to continue his legacy," Burris said.

Protesters burn police vehicles in southern China

Protesters in southern China's manufacturing hub torched emergency vehicles in an outburst of anger against police abuse of migrant workers, eyewitnesses said Monday.

Sunday night's rioting followed three days of steadily growing unrest in the town of Xintang in Guangdong province, the linchpin of China's crucial export industry. Accounts of the violence in state-controlled media have been sparse, but the official Xinhua News Agency says a government team has been sent to the area to quell rumors surrounding the unrest.

While violent protests in China have become frequent over the past decade, recent weeks have seemed particularly turbulent. The vast region of Inner Mongolia last month saw its biggest street demonstrations in two decades, while a man angry over land seizures set off three homemade bombs at government buildings in a southern city, killing three people and wounding at least nine others.

Thousands of protesters attacked government offices in the central city of Lichuan last week following the alleged beating death of a local city council member while in police custody.

Though the triggers for the events are different, most are driven by common resentments over social inequality, abuse of power and suppression of legitimate grievances.

The Chinese leadership has reacted nervously to the turmoil, especially after popular uprisings began sweeping the Middle East and North Africa this year. In recent months, hundreds of government critics have been questioned, arrested or simply disappeared.

The violence in Xintang broke out Friday evening after a pregnant woman was pushed to the ground in a sweep against street vendors, most of whom are migrants from the southwestern province of Sichuan. Such disputes are common and bystanders often side with the vendors and accuse police of heavy-handed tactics.

Crowds soon gathered, blocking traffic and attacking government offices with bottles and bricks, Xinhua said. Police arrested 25 people accused of inciting the unrest, Xinhua said, adding that no deaths or injuries had been reported.

Violence continued to brew and tens of thousands of people gathered Sunday night at a major highway interchange, setting fire to more than two dozen emergency vehicles and fighting with police and paramilitary forces, said a salesman at the Xintang Ruilong clothing factory located close to the scene of the clash.

"It was such a horrifyingly spectacular scene," said the salesman, who gave only his surname, Wang. "You can never imagine what it looked like if you were not there."

Wang said the violence began after police adjuncts known as municipal management officers began beating migrants working as sidewalk vendors, ostensibly on orders from local government officials. Vendors then contacted relatives and friends who arrived in groups and began smashing vehicles and fighting with security forces, he said.

A female worker from the nearby Fengcai clothing factory, also surnamed Wang, said managers barred the 400 migrant workers from leaving the plant Sunday night.

"There were many people out on the streets late last night, shouting and trying to create chaos. Some of them even smashed police vehicles," Wang said.

Video of the protests posted online showed crowds blocking traffic, attacking cars and setting aflame buses, possibly dispatched to transport security forces.