Update: Protests surround Oakland as Mehserle is released

Oakland - Eleven months after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the New Years Day 2009 shooting of Oscar Grant, former BART cop Johannes Mehserle is set to be released Monday, leading to protests Sunday afternoon.

At approximately 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon, about 300 people met at the very BART station that Oscar Grant was killed at two-and-a-half years ago. The group soon marched to downtown Oakland, with the final protesters leaving by about 9 p.m., according to the San Francisco Examiner. The protest came just hours before Johannes Mehserle was set to be released after 11 months in prison, which was over a year less than he was originally sentenced to serve. Time was shaved off due to good behavior. The Associated Press reports that the protest stayed mostly peaceful, and that there were few reports of vandalism during the protest. Only one person was arrested for spray painting graffiti during the protest. According to NBC Bay Area, Oakland Police will have extra staff on duty for the release of Mehserle on Monday, but refused to give an exact number of officers. Mehserle claimed to be reaching for his Taser when he fatally shot unarmed Oscar Grant. Update: Mehserle was released from a Los Angeles prison at 12:01 a.m. Monday morning, according to California Beat.