Protesters Massing In Oakland, As Officers Ready Themselves

As office buildings empty and businesses close in Oakland, protesters are gathering for demonstrations of the two-year sentence of ex-BART cop Johannes Mehserle, reports SF Gate.com.

Mehserle was convicted in July of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting of Oscar Grant on Jan. 1, 2009. Grant's family today said the sentence was unacceptable, and that it should be closer to the maximum of 14 years.

Protestors began appearing at City Hall, wearing "Justice for Oscar Grant" T-shirts.

The Oakland Police Department announced it has set up an Emergency Operations Center at 1605 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, and Chief Anthony Batts told SF Gate.com, "We don't want to be physical, but we have plenty of resources."

Officers will be on the lookout for out-of-town anarchists and carrying video cameras to record looting for later prosecution.

Read the full story at SFGate.com.