But one of the videotapes of the killing, which have brought so much public attention to the case and helped persuade prosecutors to file murder charges, told a different story.

When a prosecutor showed him footage of the New Year's Day shooting, Officer Tony Pirone, testifying as a defense witness for former BART Officer Johannes Mehserle, conceded that it appeared to show Grant's hands behind his back as Mehserle fired.

Mehserle's attorney called Pirone to the stand at a preliminary hearing in Oakland as part of his effort to have the charge against the 27-year-old former officer reduced from murder to manslaughter.

Pirone was the officer closest to Mehserle on the platform of the Fruitvale Station as police tried to arrest Grant, 22, following a fight aboard a train.

The defense says Mehserle meant to stun Grant with a Taser and accidentally fired his pistol. They say a Taser would have been appropriate because Grant was resisting, an assertion Pirone supported Wednesday.

'They were not there'

Asked by defense attorney Michael Rains whether Grant had followed orders to put his hands behind his back after he was forced to the platform on his chest, Pirone replied, "They were not there."

On cross-examination, however, Alameda County prosecutor David Stein had Pirone step off the witness stand and view a flat-panel television mounted in court. Stein played footage of the shooting and froze the frame just after the single shot rang out.

"What do you see in this frame?" Stein asked Pirone, pointing at Grant.

"What appears to be two hands," Pirone responded.

Asked if the video, shot by a San Francisco State University student who had been on Grant's train, showed Grant's hands behind his back, Pirone said, "It appears to be that way, sir."

Grant's family members say Mehserle intended to fire his gun and made up the Taser story.

Testimony has indicated that Mehserle received a Taser from another officer in the middle of his shift and was wearing it on the opposite side of his equipment belt from his pistol. Tasers, which are shaped somewhat like guns, must be turned on with a switch that is flipped by the officer's thumb.

'Big brother' to Mehserle

Pirone, who said he was like a "big brother" to Mehserle, gave a long account of how they and other BART officers had detained Grant and four of his friends. Grant's family has accused Pirone - the first officer to arrive at the scene - of escalating the situation with his aggressiveness.

The muscular former Marine answered many questions with a snappy, "Yes, sir." When he asked Judge C. Don Clay if he could repeat profanities, he said, "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

Pirone said he had decided to arrest Grant for obstructing police, prompting Mehserle to force him to his chest and try to handcuff him. Pirone said Grant "was flopping around, trying to get away," and wouldn't allow Mehserle to get his hands behind his back.

Pirone said he and Mehserle had both ordered Grant to put his hands behind his back before Mehserle made a series of rapid-fire statements.

'I'm going to Tase him'

Mehserle twice yelled, "I'm going to Tase him," Pirone said. He also quoted Mehserle as saying, "I can't get his hands," and, "His hands are in his waistband," before shouting, "Get back, get back," and "Tony, Tony."

The judge had indicated earlier that Pirone's recollection of statements by Mehserle, who has not testified, was hearsay and thus inadmissible. But the defense and prosecution reached an agreement to allow Pirone's testimony before Wednesday's session.

Pirone said he hadn't understood why Mehserle was shouting at him to "get back," but he said he had complied.

"Before I even stood up, I heard a gunshot," Pirone said. "To be perfectly honest, I thought the Taser malfunctioned. I should be seeing probes (in Grant's back), and I'm not seeing probes."

Pirone continued, "I look up and I see Officer Mehserle with a gun in his hands. ... I think I said, 'Oh s-.' It's not something I was expecting to see or hear."

Mehserle, Pirone said, had a "look of shock, almost like he had the same thought: 'Oh s-.' "

'Going for a gun'

Soon after, Pirone recalled, Mehserle approached him and said, "Tony, I thought he was going for a gun." Grant was unarmed.

John Burris, an attorney representing Grant's family, said outside court that the final statement by Mehserle shows he intended to use his pistol, not his Taser. Burris said that if Mehserle had meant to use his Taser, he would have immediately told Pirone about the mistake.

Burris said there is no evidence that Grant resisted police.

Pirone and five other officers who were on the train platform with Mehserle are on paid leave while an outside law firm hired by BART conducts an investigation of the shooting.

Wednesday marked the sixth day of testimony in Mehserle's preliminary hearing, which is expected to continue for one or two more days. Judge Clay must decide whether to send the case to trial.

E-mail Demian Bulwa at dbulwa@fchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle