By MALIA WOLLAN
OAKLAND, Calif. — A white former transit police officer was charged with murder Wednesday in the New Year’s Day shooting death of a young unarmed black man that provoked a week of public outrage and occasionally violent protest.
The former officer, Johannes Mehserle, surrendered Tuesday evening in Lake Tahoe, Nev., where it appeared he had gone to avoid community anger and the scrutiny of the news media. He was returned to California on Wednesday by the Oakland police.
District Attorney Tom Orloff of Alameda County said Mr. Mehserle, 27, had refused to speak to Oakland police or transit police investigators and was charged with murder “because at this point I feel the evidence indicates an unlawful killing done by an intentional act.”
“His lawyer has evoked his constitutional right to remain silent,” Mr. Orloff said of Mr. Mehserle. “So in terms of any interview at this point, our hands are tied.”
Mr. Mehserle’s lawyer, Christopher Miller, said in a written statement on Wednesday, “As the case moves forward through the justice system and all of the circumstances of that chaotic night become clear, I fully expect Mr. Mehserle will be cleared of the charges against him.”
Mr. Mehserle resigned from the Bay Area Rapid Transit force a week after the shooting.
Oakland officials, meanwhile, prepared for another night of protests by maximizing the available police force and closing city buildings early.
Nevertheless, after peaceful protests in the afternoon and early evening, a small group of demonstrators vandalized several buildings in downtown Oakland, smashing windows and bus shelters. Jeff Thomason, a spokesman for the Oakland police, said late Wednesday said that they had made 18 arrests after "a rogue element" of the protest scattered through downtown streets attacking storefronts.
Mr. Mehserle is charged in the death of Oscar Grant III, who was shot at close range on Jan. 1 while lying face down on a train platform. Mr. Grant, a butcher’s apprentice, was among several people who had been removed from the train by officers investigating a fight. Passengers captured cellphone videos of the shooting, which have been viewed thousands of times on Internet and news sites.
Last Wednesday night, more than 100 people were arrested after protesters marched through Oakland breaking store windows and setting cars and trashcans on fire.
John Burris, a lawyer for Mr. Grant’s family, said they too hoped that the arrest would “curb some of the anger.”
“But it will not end the feelings here about systemic police brutality and misconduct toward the African-American community,” Mr. Burris said.
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