Former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the killing of Oscar Grant III by a Los Angeles jury on Thursday.

It has been reported that the jury reached its verdict after one full day of deliberation on the question of whether Mehserle should be acquitted or found guilty of second-degree murder or manslaughter in the Jan. 1, 2009, killing in Oakland, Calif., in which Mehserle said he mistakenly drew his pistol instead of his stun gun.

KTVU-TV, San Francisco, has said that Mehserle's trial was moved from the Bay Area to Los Angeles because of racial tensions and excessive media coverage. Mehserle is white, and Grant was black.

Witnesses shot video of the killing, in which Mehserle is shown firing a shot into Grant's back as Grant lay face-down. Mehserle resigned from BART one week after the shooting, at around the same time as protesters turned violent in Oakland, Calif., smashing storefronts and setting cars afire.

It has also been reported that law enforcement departments across the Bay Area were bracing for possible violence and riots in the aftermath of the verdict on Thursday.

It has further been reported that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement urging the public "to remain calm in light of the verdict and not to resort to violence. I have spoken to Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and have assured him we are well prepared to assist in maintaining order." (With Inputs from Agencies)