Oakland police simulated a riot Friday as they prepared for possible mayhem in the aftermath of the trial of Johannes Mehserle, the former BART police officer who is accused of murdering an unarmed train rider.
Police are trying to avoid any recurrence of the violence that beset the city on Jan. 7, 2009, six days after the shooting, when rioters smashed storefronts, set cars ablaze and blocked downtown streets. The riot came three days after amateur videos showing the fatal shooting were broadcast and posted on the Internet.
Friday's police simulation, at the Port of Oakland, was part of a year's worth of preparation for how to respond to a riot, police said.
Most of the January 2009 protesters arrested came from outside Oakland, but the case nonetheless has raised tension inside the city as well, said Officer Holly Joshi, an Oakland police spokeswoman. Mehserle is white, and the man he killed, Oscar Grant, was black.
