By Melissa Murphy
The Vacaville Reporter
VACAVILLE, Calif. — An anticipated verdict in the murder trial of a former BART police officer has law enforcement officers in Solano County on standby to respond to unpeaceful demonstrations.
Activists have not been secretive about planned rallies in Oakland after a verdict is read, which could happen this week, but while there have been promises to keep it peaceful, even store owners in Oakland are taking extra precautions by boarding up windows.
Former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle is being tried in Los Angeles for fatally shooting Oscar Grant III, 22, of Hayward, early Jan. 1, 2009, on a crowded Fruitvale BART platform in Oakland. Jury deliberations began Friday and are to resume Tuesday.
Even though a verdict is not expected until late this week at the earliest, Oakland police and city officials have been holding meetings to prepare for any contingencies, including riots and acts of vandalism, such as those that plagued the city after Grant was fatally shot.
Oakland police, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, the California Highway Patrol and BART police will be the main law enforcement agencies dealing with crowd control and potential illegal activity.
Mutual aid is available from the nine counties in Region 2 surrounding Oakland, in-cluding Solano County.
Officers from Solano County’s Office of Emergency Services and the Fairfield and Vacaville departments are ready to respond, as is a joint team from Dixon, Benicia and Vallejo.
Team members have conducted several drills during the past few weeks, which were followed up by crowd-control tactics practice last Wednesday.
“We’re ready, hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst,” said Vacaville Sgt. Ian Schmutzler. “Hopefully everything goes OK.”
Although the team is prepared, Schmutzler, an Oakland police officer for three years, said they’ve never previously anticipated a call like this in Vacaville.
The department will send 12 officers and have another 12 on standby in the city in case something were to erupt in Solano County.
“Our priority is Solano County,” Schmutzler said. “We do have agreements with other counties for mutual aid, but we’re here to maintain peace in the county and we’ve planned for that. We’re geared up, dialed in, and the equipment is ready to go.”
During Mehserle’s trial, Vacaville Sgt. Charlie Spruill testified for the prosecution as an expert witness in group dynamics and crowd-control techniques. Spruill is also an instructor at the Napa Valley Academy, which Mehserle attended.
The Oakland Tribune contributed to this report.
Copyright 2010 The Times-Herald