Former BART officer testifies in his own defense

A former transit police officer on trial for the fatal shooting of a passenger at an Oakland BART station took the witness stand in his own defense Thursday, testifying he had little training on using a Taser but was warned of the dangers of confusing it with his handgun — which is what his lawyers insist happened on New Year’s Day 2009.

Johannes Mehserle, 28, testified about his background and training but did not get to the moment when he shot Oscar Grant III, 22, as the victim lay face down on the Fruitvale subway station platform before court adjoined for the day.

The former officer, who is white, resigned shortly after the shooting. He does not dispute that he shot Grant, an African American, but contends it was an accident. He has pleaded not guilty to murder charges. The case was moved to Los Angeles because of pretrial publicity in the Bay Area.

Mehserle testified that he had extensive training in drawing a firearm, but had had only a brief, partial-day training session using the Taser.

He noted, however, that the trainer for the Bay Area Rapid Transit Police Department did give a brief warning about confusing the Taser with a gun. During training, he testified, he drew a Taser fewer than 10 times. He said he drew the weapon once while on patrol before the shooting.

Mehserle, who killed Grant with a single shot from a .40-caliber Sig Sauer handgun, told jurors he was trained to fire multiple shots when deadly force was warranted. “It is not like Hollywood,” he said.

The German native said he fired a gun once growing up in Napa Valley and went into policing because he liked to “talk to people.” He quickly distanced himself from fellow Officer Tony Pirone, who prosecutors said used a racial epithet and force on the platform the night of the shooting.

“He reminded me a lot of my drill instructor in the academy — very hard-nosed.... He was aggressive,” Mehserle said of Pirone. “That was more his style. I was the opposite.”

Mehserle said he responded to the Fruitvale station after a radio call about “a group of black males fighting.” As he and his partner entered the station, he heard shouting and saw four men sitting against a wall with Pirone and another colleague standing over them with their Tasers out.

“I remember Mr. Grant and Mr. [Kevin] Bryson being upset,” he said, adding that they shouted an expletive about Pirone and vowed to sue him. Grant, he recalled, had out a cellphone and he asked him to put it away.

“I got them to settle down,” he said. “When Pirone came back that changed.”

The shooting in the predawn hours was captured on video by several passengers on a crowded BART train. In response to a request by The Times, the court Thursday released the videos that have been played for jurors, including footage that has never before been made public.

richard.winton@latimes.com