Oscar Grant's uncle rejects officer's letter of apology

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - The uncle of an unarmed man fatally shot by a former transit police officer has harsh words to describe a letter of apology from the officer...

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The uncle of an unarmed man fatally shot by a former transit police officer has harsh words to describe a letter of apology from the officer.

Speaking outside an Oakland church Saturday night, Oscar Grant’s uncle, Cephus Johnson, rejected the letter released Friday, terming it a “ploy.”

Johnson said he and the Grant family didn’t believe the words in Johannes Mehserle’s handwritten note, saying it’s an attempt at gaining the judge’s sympathy before sentencing.

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Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter by a Los Angeles jury Thursday for the 2009 fatal shooting of the 22-year-old Grant on a train platform in Oakland.

Mehserle’s lawyer, Michael Rains, tells the San Francisco Chronicle he will seek a delay in Mehserle’s Aug. 6 sentencing. Rains did not immediately return a call Sunday from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.

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