Videos star in Calif. train station shooting trial (AP)

[Yahoo! News]

AP - The star witness in a trial of a former transit officer accused of killing an unarmed black man at an Oakland train station can't take the stand. But the videos recorded by several people aboard a Bay Area Rapid Transit train that chronicle the events leading up to the 2009 New Year's Day shooting are being called upon by attorneys on both sides to help prove their case.

During opening arguments Thursday, prosecutors said the tapes show former transit officer Johannes Mehserle, who is white, losing his calm amid the chaos, while a defense attorney argued his client made a horrible mistake by pulling out his gun instead of a Taser. Mehserle, 28, is accused of killing 22-year-old Oscar Grant while he was lying on the ground. Mehserle has pleaded not guilty to murder.



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Protestors hold signs during a demonstration outside of a Bay Area Rapid Transit station in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, June 9, 2010. City Arts and Technology High School students in San Francisco demonstrated with the theme: 'We are All Oscar Grant!' A jury has been selected in the trial of former BART officer, Johannes Mehserle, charged with killing unarmed black man, Oscar Grant, at this same station on New Year's Day 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)