The Oakland, Calif., transit officer charged with murder in the shooting death of an unarmed, Black man on New Year’s Day is free after posting a $3 million bond.

Johannes Mehserle was videotaped with a cell phone camera pumping a bullet into the back of 22-year-old Oscar Grant, as his victim lay on the ground. Another Bay Area Rapid Transit officer kneeled on Grant’s back as Mehserle fired.

The decision by a judge last month to grant bond to the 27-year-old Mehserle triggered a violent uprising in the Bay Area.

Mehserle’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 23.