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RIP Kelly Thomas - Police Acquitted of Murder
Kelly Thomas, May 2002
Here is a 30+ minute surveillance video of the incident, with text added:
Quote:
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) ? By the time all four verdicts were read clearing two California officers of killing a homeless man, people on both sides of the gallery were sobbing.
Thomas, 37, died five days after a violent confrontation with six officers in July 2011. A surveillance camera at the busy transit center where the incident unfolded captured him screaming for his father again and again and begging for air as the police kneed him, jolted him with an electric stun gun and used the blunt end to strike him around the face and head.
It was a rare case in which police officers were charged in a death involving actions on duty. Jurors took less than two days to reach their verdicts.
Ramos, 39, was acquitted of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter on Monday. Cicinelli, 41, was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter and excessive use of force.
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckus, who tried the case himself, said after the verdicts that charges will be dropped against Joseph Wolfe, a third officer awaiting trial.
The FBI said that it will review the evidence to determine whether federal action is justified.
"With the conclusion of the state court trial, investigators will examine the evidence and testimony to determine whether further investigation is warranted at the federal level," said Laura Eimiller, the FBI's spokeswoman in Los Angeles.
Outside court, Thomas' parents condemned the verdicts.
"Just horrified," Cathy Thomas said. "He got away with murdering my son."
Ron Thomas said the verdict gave police "carte blanche" to brutalize people.
"All of us need to be very afraid now," he said. "Police officers everywhere can beat us, kill us, whatever they want, but it has been proven right here today they'll get away with it."
Ramos' attorney, John Barnett, said jurors did their duty.
"These peace officers were doing their jobs," he said. "They were operating as they were trained, and they had no malice in their hearts."
The defense said Thomas started the confrontation by refusing to heed police orders and was fighting officers so much that they called for backup multiple times. At one point, the lawyers said, Thomas tried to reach for Cicinelli's stun gun.
Ron Thomas has countered that his son suffered from schizophrenia and didn't understand the officers.
The video began with Ramos stopping Thomas on July 5, 2011, after the officer answered a call about a disheveled man jiggling the handles of car doors in a busy transit center parking lot.
Ramos grew frustrated with Thomas, who wasn't following orders to sit on a curb with his hands on his knees.
Just before the altercation began, Ramos snapped on plastic gloves, made two fists and then held them in front of Thomas' face as he said, "Now see these fists? They're going to fuck you up."
Cicinelli, who arrived a few moments later, jolted Thomas several times with an electric stun gun and used the butt end to hit Thomas in the head and face, breaking bones.
Thomas was taken off life support five days later.
A county pathologist concluded that Thomas died, in part, from asphyxiation caused by injuries he received during the confrontation.
Defense attorneys said Thomas suffered from an enlarged heart from drug abuse, and his exertions during the struggle were too much for him.
Thomas' death led to days of protests in Fullerton, forced the recall of three City Council members and led the police chief to step down.
Several dozen protesters gathered outside the courthouse after the verdict waving signs, and a similar size crowd gathered at the transit center where the struggle occurred later Monday night, but both demonstrations were peaceful and there were no reported arrests.
During the trial, the defense told jurors that Thomas was not a peaceful, helpless man. They said he had a history of drug use and was homeless because he had attacked members of his own family.
Cathy Thomas testified that he choked her for several minutes during an argument, and Thomas' grandfather said Thomas attacked him with a fireplace poker in 1995.
He did not have any drugs or alcohol in his system the night of the incident.
Only a handful of police officers nationwide have been charged with murder for actions taken while on duty, and convictions in those cases are rare, said Lawrence Rosenthal, a law professor at Chapman University School of Law and a former federal prosecutor.
Unless the prosecution can prove the officers falsified reports or covered up evidence, jurors are usually willing to acquit, he said.
"Police officers are very unusual kinds of defendants because ... they are seen as acting not in their own interests but acting to protect the public at large, the very people sitting on their jury," Rosenthal said.
Jurors are willing to forgive lapses in judgment rather than put an officer "in the cage with the same people that officer has spent his life arresting," he said.
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Quote:
Kelly Thomas (April 5, 1974 ? July 10, 2011) was a homeless man diagnosed with schizophrenia who lived on the streets of Fullerton, California. He died five days after an altercation with members of the Fullerton Police Department on July 5, 2011.
Thomas was taken to St. Jude Medical Center before being transferred to the UC Irvine Medical Center, where he was comatose on arrival and not expected to recover. He never regained consciousness.
Medical records show that bones in his face were broken and he choked on his own blood. The coroner concluded that compression of the thorax made it impossible for Thomas to breathe normally and deprived his brain of oxygen. His parents removed him from life support five days later, and he died from his injuries on July 10, 2011.
Officer Manuel Ramos was charged with one count of second-degree murder and one count of involuntary manslaughter; Corporal Jay Cicinelli and Officer Joseph Wolfe were each charged with one count of felony involuntary manslaughter and one count of excessive force. All three pleaded not guilty.
A judge declined to dismiss the charges against the officers in January 2013, finding that "a reasonable person could infer that the use of force was excessive and unreasonable."
An appeals court judge also denied a request to overturn the lower court's decision. Ramos and Cicinelli were found not guilty of all charges, while the trial for Joe Wolfe was pending. Following the verdict for the two officers, the district attorney's office announced it would not continue to pursue the case.
Background
Kelly Thomas as he appeared in a 2009 booking photo released by Fullerton PD
Kelly Thomas was born April 5, 1974 to Ron Thomas, a former Orange County Sheriff's deputy, and Cathy Thomas.
Thomas, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, was a "fixture" among Fullerton's homeless population. The death of Thomas has sparked debate about systemic reforms in treatment of the mentally ill.
Between 1990 and 2011, Thomas had 92 encounters with the police. These encounters ranged from minor infractions such as trespassing to assault with a deadly weapon.
The Incident
Kelly Thomas, after his encounter with officers of the Fullerton, California Police Department
On July 5, 2011, at about 8:30 PM, officers of the Fullerton Police Department responded to a call from the management of the Slidebar that someone was vandalizing cars near the Fullerton Transportation Center.
While investigating, they encountered the shirtless and disheveled Thomas and attempted to search him. According to statements given by the officers, Thomas was uncooperative and resisted when they attempted to search him, so backup was called.
Video footage, however, shows Thomas complying with Ramos' orders, and also reveals that Ramos gave Thomas unreasonable orders, seemingly intended to confuse the suspect.
The officers then threw him onto the ground and repeatedly applied Tasers to Thomas, beating him, kicking him, and sitting on his chest. They sporadically hit him with the butts of the Tasers and flashlights.
A video of the event surfaced, and Thomas can be heard repeatedly screaming in pain while officers are heard repeatedly asking him to place his arms behind his back. He audibly responds "Okay, I'm sorry!" and "I'm trying!" while the officers stretch his arm back.
The police officers claim that, unable to get Thomas to comply with the requests, they used a taser on him (up to five times according to a witness statement, and the video footage), and in the video Thomas can be heard screaming "Dad! Dad!".
Six officers were involved in subduing Thomas, who was unarmed and had a history of mental illness.
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas gave a detailed account of the events during a press conference on September 21, 2011. Using digital audio recording devices carried by the officers, surveillance video from a pole camera at the Fullerton Transportation Center, and other evidence, Rackauckas provided evidence that Thomas did comply with orders from Officer Ramos, who had put on latex gloves and asked Thomas "Now see my fists? They are getting ready to fuck you up."
Rackauckas went on to describe how Thomas begged for his life, before being beaten to death.
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Meanwhile funding to help homeless mentally disabled people is cut... 
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