Oakland officials are preaching peace as tension mounts while waiting for the Oscar Grant murder trial. Grant was shot and killed by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle. Witnesses say another police officer had Grant on the ground, subdued, with his knee in Grant's back when he was killed. The alleged murder set off riots and protests against police brutality on the day that Grant was buried. The trial has ended and is now in the hands of a Los Angeles jury. As the verdict looms, tensions mount, with some preparing for the worst: riots in Los Angeles and Oakland if a not-guilty verdict is delivered. Store owners need to get ready because L.A. is not known for punishing rogue cops or criminal celebrities, for that matter.
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Read more about the Oscar Grant verdict at latimes.com.
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