Mehserle sentence: Oakland rally over Oscar Grant shooting death ends with 152 arrests

A day of peaceful protests over the sentencing of BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle ended in an angry march that led to a confrontation between protesters and police and 152 arrests. One officer had his holster ripped from his gun belt and another was hit by a car; his condition was unknown Friday evening. But the scale of violence and destruction that marked previous protests did not manifest itself Friday night, although City Hall closed early as did several stores near 14th Street and Broadway. A handful of retailers also boarded up their storefront windows and restaurants reported reservation cancellations. Still, people crowded into galleries and restaurants in downtown Oakland for the First Friday-Art Murmur gallery crawl. The rally began at 2 p.m. outside City Hall. The crowds chanted and hoisted signs but remained peaceful while police from as far as Monterey County, San Mateo and Sunnyvale lined the streets. "People are feeling a lot of anger," said Judith Katz, a peacekeeper from the Bay Area Nonviolent Communication organization deployed to the rally in Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. "People want to feel that Oscar Grant's life mattered."