By Elisabeth Nardi
Contra Costa Times
Walnut Creek is gearing up for what may be the Bay Area’s first pro-Johannes Mehserle rally as interest grows in the demonstration planned for Monday.
Chief Joel Bryden said Walnut Creek police are prepared for the event, dubbed the “In Support of Johannes Mehserle and L.E.O. (law enforcement officers) Rally.” It will be held outside Walnut Creek Superior Court, 640 Ygnacio Valley Road, near downtown.
“We will have enough officers there and work with other agencies to make sure it’s a safe venue,” said Bryden, who declined to provide a specific count on assigned personnel, or details about precautions.
The rally is scheduled for 2-5 p.m.
Mehserle, a former resident of nearby Lafayette, was convicted July 8 of involuntary manslaughter for killing 22-year-old Oscar Grant III, of Hayward, during an arrest Jan. 1, 2009, at the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland. While critics of the verdict said it was too lenient, supporters of Monday’s rally contend that Grant’s death was an accident. Mehserle testified during his Los Angeles trial that he intended to use a Taser instead of a gun on Grant.
The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, which oversees courthouse security, is working with Walnut Creek police to cover what organizers say will be a “peaceful” event and not about “inciting violence, destruction, intolerance, hatred, racism, riots or to upset the Grant family.”
“We want to make sure people who assemble exercise their First Amendment rights, and to make sure that court business does not get interrupted,” sheriff’s spokesman Jimmy Lee said.
The Walnut Creek rally seems to have been orchestrated solely through Facebook, with its key organizer remaining anonymous. Police have met with that woman to set “parameters” for the event, but Bryden said he did not know her name.
On the rally’s Facebook page, 95 guests say they will attend. Some who sought justice for Grant said they plan to show as well, to hear what Mehserle supporters have to say. When news of the rally broke Tuesday, comments on community blogs and ContraCostaTimes.com exploded. Posters, nearly all of them anonymous, expressed feelings ranging from support to rage. Many said a show of support for Mehserle was long overdue; some said they wanted to speak up for Mehserle sooner but were too scared.
Others vented their distrust of police, one calling the rally “in support of police brutality.” Other commentators said the media, including this newspaper, is blowing the rally out of proportion to make it a circus.
Groups around Oakland, including one that met Thursday evening in West Oakland, are looking at ways to move forward, including disarming BART police and pushing for the indictment of former BART officers Tony Pirone and Marysol Domenici, as well as ending what they see as police brutality.
One man attending Thursday’s gathering said participants planned to organize committees to address those concerns.
Walnut Creek police have reached out to the Coalition for Justice for Oscar Grant, some of whose members plan to attend Monday’s rally.
Gary Pokorny, Walnut Creek’s city manager, said the demonstration will be kept within the courthouse parking lot. But he recommended that drivers avoid Ygnacio Valley Road on Monday afternoon, and consider alternative routes such as Treat Boulevard.
But some Walnut Creek residents are worried. Kerry Martinez said her feelings about the BART shooting case are secondary to her concern about public safety and traffic.
“An event of this magnitude can’t go down with this little information,” she said. “And what about the people who don’t know this is happening "... and things go terrible?”
Bryden said Walnut Creek police are planning for the worst, but he does not expect anywhere near the level of the sometimes violent protest and looting that occurred in Oakland.
Some say Walnut Creek’s well-heeled majority white demographic creates a friendly environment for a pro-Mehserle protest.
Mayor Sue Rainey said she is not worried about how Walnut Creek is perceived. The city has encouraged more diversity. She doesn’t know why Walnut Creek was chosen over other cities.
“We have had a lot of rallies held here on different topics,” she said. “People should be respectful and peaceful. We didn’t organize it. But they have a right to have a rally.”
Copyright 2010 Contra Costa Newspapers