Ex-Officer of Oakland Transit Fatal Shooting Is Arrested in Nevada

"We're disappointed that it took him fleeing the state in order for the law to take some action," she said. "Honestly this situation brings more questions than answers. Why was he fleeing?"

Wanda Johnson, the mother of Oscar Grant, wipes a tear while listening to family members at a news...

Wanda Johnson, the mother of Oscar Grant, wipes a tear while listening to family members at a news conference on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009 in Oakland, Calif. Oscar Grant's family has filed a $25 million wrongful-death claim against BART, the San Francisco Bay Area's commuter rail system, and relatives want BART transit police officer Johannes Mehserle to be criminally charged. (AP Photo/San Francisco Chronicle, Brant Ward)

(AP)

Douglas County, where the arrest occurred, is 15 miles south of Carson City in northwestern Nevada and includes Lake Tahoe and Carson Valley.

Mehserle refused to talk to BART investigators before resigning his position last week. The transit authority passed on details of its internal investigation to Orloff's office on Monday. The case also is being investigated by the Oakland Police Department.

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State Attorney General Jerry Brown has assigned a prosecutor to monitor the case, and the U.S. Department of Justice has dispatched mediators to help avert violent protests such as one in Oakland last week.

BART board member Carole Ward Allen said she was pleased to hear the news about the arrest.

"I want to know why he did it," she said. "We've heard from everybody else but him. While I can't speak for the entire BART board, we want to make this process as transparent as possible."

The San Francisco Chronicle first reported the arrest.

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