 |
| Image: Kelly Thomas |
Activist Post
The surviving family members of Kelly Thomas, who was brutally murdered by Fullerton Police (Orange County, California) in July, rejected an offer of $900,000 not to pursue civil action.
On July 5, 2011, closed circuit TV caught six Fullerton cops brutally murdering a homeless, mentally ill man. Kelly Thomas, age 37, died after being taken off life-support five days later.
A whistleblower who viewed the unreleased city-owned video of the event says an officer crushed Thomas’ windpipe by “drop-kneeing” him “more than once.
His last words are heard on this CCTV video where he’s screaming, “Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad!”
Witnesses to the vicious beating were caught on a bus camera describing the event immediately afterwards:
City officials deny police intended to kill Thomas and are “trying to determine if officers used excessive force in his death,” reports NBC. Ya think?
The FBI is also involved in the investigation.
Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Thomas often slept near the bus depot where the beating occurred. The Thomas family has hired Garo Mardirossian to represent them in a case against the Fullerton Police Dept. He filed a “claim” last week which is prerequisite to filing a civil suit.
Here’s video of the victim’s father, Ron Thomas, at a public meeting on the incident, (which aired Aug. 2, 2011):
Tony Bushala has been following the events on his blog, Fullerton’s Future.
Officer Kenton Hampton [image];
Officer Jay Cicinelli;
Officer Manny Ramos;
Officer Joe Wolfe;
Officer James Blatney; and
An as-yet-unidentified sergeant who would have been called because of the use of tasers.
On the July 29 John and Ken Show (KFI AM 640), Kelly’s father, Ron Thomas, revealed that the city offered him $900,000 not to file a civil action. He rejected the offer.
A friend of several Fullerton police officers also called the John and Ken Show (July 28) to describe the city-owned video of the beating, which has not yet been released to the public. The dispatcher on duty zoomed the camera in on the scene when the beating began, he said.
One of the officers is actually observed on the video actually drop – what they call ‘drop-kneeing’ a suspect, where the officer comes down with his knee full force and that is actually what hits the suspect in the nose area and throat area …
I believe at that point that’s where his, part of his throat was crushed. And it’s not just one time that he drop knees him.
Chief Sellers went on “medical leave” on August 10, “after two City Council members called for him to resign over his handling of an investigation into the in-custody death of a homeless schizophrenic man,” reports Los Alamitos Patch. Though the specific medical condition was not revealed, we can be reasonably certain he was sweating bullets. Capt. Kevin Hamilton is now acting police chief in Fullerton.
Mayor F. Richard Jones has refused to resign, despite public outcry over his handling of the investigation. Ron Thomas promised that he will continue to apply pressure until the mayor steps down.
Hundreds of protesters staged events at least twice since the murder, and the Thomases filed a claim against the city, after rejecting the $900,000 offer to settle the matter.
On August 4, the ACLU called for an independent investigation given that of 50 police-involved deaths over a five-year period, not one cop was prosecuted. The Orange County District Attorney is “incapable of [a] fair investigation,” the press release said.
On August 16, the Fullerton City Council voted to hire independent investigators.
Kelly’s mother, Cathy Thomas, describes her son as a “gentle soul” who never became violent. Kelly started showing symptoms of mental illness when he was 17. Fullerton Stories posted a lengthy interview describing the history and published several pictures. (NOTE: According to sources, the family denies that the 2009 booking photo at that website, provided by Fullerton police, is of Kelly Thomas. The FPD must be incapable of honesty.)
In a related matter, Veth Mam also retained Attorney Mardirossian in his case against the Fullerton cops for beating him for video taping the cops during an arrest made last October. This video made its way to Youtube after the Kelly Thomas murder scandal.
Cops threatened witnesses to the beating with arrest if they didn’t vacate the scene, and lied under oath and on the arrest report. Veth Nam was cleared of all charges only after the cell phone video surfaced revealing the truth.
Officer Kenton Hampton was involved in both the Thomas murder and Mam beating.
On August 19, Mardirossian filed a civil complaint on Mam’s behalf alleging civil rights violations, conspiracy and cover-up.
Hat tip Brasscheck TV.
Rady Ananda specializes in Natural Resources and administers the sites, Food Freedom and COTO Report.
PLEASE USE THE SHARE TOOLS BELOW TO SPREAD THIS STORY
16 comments:
I used to get upset when I hear a cop was killed on duty, now I dont give a crap. F the police.
All the money in the world is not enough. What is needed is Justice. And Justice would lay a very heavy hand on the officers involved - too heavy to leave anything to pay.
Solid article; amongst the best I've seen yet, on a really bad subject.
-
Amen
thanks, anon.
Let's hope the "independent investigator," an LA cop from the police union, does a straight job on this case.
I think it's abhorrent that this man's "family" is suing the cops when they couldn't be bothered to keep him off the streets in the first place. Here in America, we leave the ones who are no longer useful homeless on the streets to become victims of tyrants, rather than invite them into our homes to care for them. Where was this man's family when he was still alive and he actually needed their help?
lets see, they are going to have a cop investigate other cops. I am the father of a twenty year old autisic son. He looks normal. In todays world if a cop tells you to and you do not break your neck bending over and drop your pants they will kill you. My son would not understand what he was being told to do and they would kill him. this is not an isolated incedent. breaks my heart having him screaming for his dad while these monsters get their rocks off by killing him.
In my close to sixty years, I have never seen the US police do anything other than lie and abuse.
We got to stand up to this with the people of Fullerton and the Thomas family. Here's the contact info for the Fullerton Mayor, City Council and Police. Get on the horn and let them know how you feel
http://www.cityoffullerton.com/about/city_hall/city_directory.asp
thx, John. Good idea.
to father of autistic son: I think about that, too -- how do we protect our most vulnerable from police and "authorities"?
to the anon judging the Thomas family: none of us are perfect; families are dysfunctional; and their decision to not house him no doubt has a lot of inside details that may mitigate why they made that decision. Kelly probably had a say in that, too.
If you read Kelly's history (linked in the article), you'll see that the family helped him when he showed up.
But, even in the worst light, how the family treated him is nothing compared to what the cops did.
Let's see if I got this right...
1. 6 armed and armored police officers beat a man to death. They have clubs, guns, tasers, pepper spray, years of training, body armor, heavy boots, helmets and gloves. They surround and kill a defenseless man.
2. Their actions are caught on camera so there is no doubt they did this murder, under color of authority, because they were in uniform when they did it.
3. The six police are guilty of murder, plain and simple, but are not arrested for this murder.
4. The City officials are not exercising their authority to demand that the 6 police officerss are arrested for murder. Therefore they have become accomplices after-the-fact for their actions to protect 6 murderers.
5. No one has arrested the City officials for being accomplices in murder. The best anybody seems to be able to do is file a civil suit, for civil rights violations.
DaveR
You pretty much summed it up. Welcome to the USSA
This is how it stays, in fact it keeps getting worse until people start saying no.
I agree that they should ask for much more and every officer involved should be fired.
Those cops should be fired, charged with the crime and tried. If they are found guilty then I say sentence them and make them "outlaws". If you don't understand the meaning of the original term, go look it up.
Personally, I would welcome the opportunity to run into one (or more) of the "outlaws". Those amped up, steroid punks no longer scare me.
I practice every day. The emotional part is a blank now. The muscle memory is honed smooth.
This story is one of the most horrible abuses by law enforcement that I've seen. But my question is why didn't anyone standing around witnessing this atrocity do anything to help this poor man??? It is way past time to idly sit by and watch a fellow citizen basically being murdered right in front of us AND DO NOTHING! But why should one mentally ill homeless man raise an eyebrow when Americans have yet to do anything about demanding justice for the 3000 citizens murdered on national television on 9/11.
I think the American People has been Haarped and they are soundly sleep walking. I've lived for more than 20 years under a one of the most brutal dictatorship in the whole World (I am Haitian and I recognize a brutal police state in the making, and the United States of America is rapidly sliding toward that the treshold that divides a police state from a full dictatorship. We Haitians are still battling the brutality of our politicians and their "private militia" which are the police and the soon to be the new Haitian army. We have sworn not to ever fall under a regime that has slaugthered more than 100 000 of our citizens.
You Americans better wake up and shut down that gaz pipe before it kills you all. For, you should know that a Dictator doesn't hesitate to kill when his regime is at risk to fall.
Why do we feel there is something very very wrong happening and that wrong extends far beyond just the brutes and brutality of the mans beating?
You and I "feel"" the wrong; We do not need some fn bureaucrats , elected or not to tell us wether the cops were justified or "legal".
We are told and it has been admitted by victims parents that he had mental problems, but I put forth that all the police force wether agreeing or not agreeing but keeping quiet are the true mentally dangerous to society.
Not only the police but the elected and employed bureaucracy are as if not rqual more deranged than the police who were directly involved.
I am not a civilized urbanite, for my idea of justice is of a more ancient order; For I hear that poor deranged mans cry for his dad to save him from the bad men who were hurting him. And I have to agtee that no amount of money can pay for their misdeeds.
It is time to startpulling down the castle walls that our criminally insane and their loyal lapdogs hide behind and if it takes every streetlight hanging byy the dozens so be it.
Their replacements will know just where their place and dutys lay.
Post a Comment