The Killing of Kelly Thjomas & The Power of New Media

[JG55]

If you haven't seen or heard about this tragedy, Kelly Thomas was beat to death by Police officers in Fullerton Ca. This a a very sad event for all concerned. Personally I can't imagine the Heartbreak of hearing one of my children crying out for me, while being beat unconscious by Police Officers. If you have the time take a look or google it. This link seems to have the most information in one place Kelly Thomas Beating – Friends For Fullerton's Future

Just saw this 55 minutes ago from LA NOW : 2 officers charged with murder, manslaughter Kelly Thomas: D.A. charges two officers with murder, manslaughter - latimes.com

[JG55]

[h=1]L.A. NOW[/h][h=2]Southern California -- this just in[/h]

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[h=1]Kelly Thomas begged for his life from 'menacing' officer, D.A. says[/h] September 21, 2011 | 11:52 am

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Scared and bleeding, Kelly Thomas begged for his life to no avail as Fullerton police officers beat him and Tasered him in a violent confrontation that led to his death, Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas said at a news conference Wednesday.

Rackauckas gave a painfully detailed narrative of the July 5 events leading up to Thomas' death -– details that he said resulted in second-degree murder and manslaughter charges being filed against two police officers.

Rackauckas said Officer Manuel Ramos put latex gloves on his hands and brandished a fist at Thomas. Then, Rackauckas said, the officer, in a "menacing" manner, threatened Thomas: "These fists are ready to F you up."

Photos: Kelly Thomas death

Ramos knew Thomas, a homeless schizophrenic man who frequented downtown Fullerton, and Rackauckas said the officer should have realized that he was mentally ill and having difficulty following commands.

"Kelly Thomas appeared to be acting in self-defense, in pain, in a state of panic. His numerous pleas of 'I'm sorry,' 'I can't breathe,' 'help,' 'Dad,' all to no avail," Rackauckas said. "Screams, loud screams, didn't help."

Full coverage: Kelly Thomas death

Six officers were placed on leave after the beating, but Rackauckas said he filed charges only against Ramos and Officer Jay Cicinelli, who is accused of excessive use of force and involuntary manslaughter. The other four officers were not charged and were unaware of the statements and threats made by Ramos, the district attorney said.

Cicinelli allegedly Tased Thomas four times, kneed him in the head twice and hit him eight times with the Taser, Rackauckas said.

"Kelly Thomas was not responding when blows to his face occurred," Rackauckas said, adding, "That is not protecting and serving."

Rackauckas said the cause of Thomas' death was "medical compression of the thorax," basically chest compression that left him unable to breathe. His other injuries were contributing factors, according to the coroner's report.

The attorney representing the officers could not be immediately reached for comment.

[daddyo]

If they are found guilty, I hope they are put into the general prison population.

[JG55]

DA'S Press Conference

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/130268063.html

[trblmkr13]

Sad story

[peejman]

As a father myself, there's no way I'd be able to display Mr. Thomas's composure.

[JG55]

Published: Sept. 21, 2011 Updated: 3:29 p.m.

Text: Next Article »

Death of Kelly Thomas: D.A.'s step-by-step

District attorney lays out prosecutors’ account of events on the night of homeless man’s fatal encounter with police. Full Kelly Thomas coverage.

• Related
  
  • 2 officers charged in Kelly Thomas death in court
    
  • 2 officers charged in Kelly Thomas death in court
    

By ALEJANDRA MOLINA and DENISSE SALAZAR / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

At a news conference Wednesday morning, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas outlined the sequence of events that prosecutors believe took place on the night of the fatal beating of Kelly Thomas:

•At about 8:37 p.m. July 5, officer Manuel Ramos and officer Wolfe responded to the Fullerton bus depot in separate vehicles. Kelly Thomas was shirtless with a backpack. The officers did not think Thomas needed to be patted down for weapons.

The Orange County District Attorney's Office said Wednesday that two Fullerton police officers will be charged in the death of Kelly Thomas.

JOSH SUDDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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•During the detention, Wolfe stepped 10 to 15 feet away to the back of his vehicle to review the contents of the backpack while Ramos gave instructions to Thomas, who was 2 feet away and sitting on the curb. Thomas had difficulty following Ramos' instructions, which were to sit with his legs straight out, with his hands on his knees.

• After several minutes of increasingly aggressive instructions, the bus depot video showed Ramos escalating the contact into a physical altercation. It was 16 minutes from the initial time of contact to the beginning of the physical altercation and engagement in unlawful police conduct.

• Ramos stood over Kelly Thomas, put Latex gloves on and ordered Kelly Thomas to, "Put your hands on your 'F'ing' knees." Ramos leaned over Thomas and made two fists with his gloves on. He lifted his fists to Thomas in front of his face and he said, "Now see my fists? They're getting ready to 'F' you up."

• A brief exchange of words followed as Thomas remained seated. Ramos grabbed Thomas by the back of the arm. Thomas pulled away, stood up and started taking steps away from Ramos. Then, a baton came out. Thomas lifted his hands up, palms open in a defensive stance.

• Wolfe came running out from his car to assist in the arrest. The evidence does not indicate that Wolfe knew the EARLIER exchange that had taken place.

•The physical altercation began as Ramos swung his baton and chased Thomas. Ramos punched Thomas several times in the left ribs after tackling him to the ground. He used his hand to hold Thomas' neck, partially lying on Thomas to use his body weight to pin Thomas to the ground. He held him for other officers, who were responding to the call for help, to use their physical force against Thomas.

• Ramos caused Wolfe to come to his aid and apply force on Thomas.

• Cpl. Jay Cicinelli arrived at the scene at about 8:45 p.m. He kneed Thomas twice in the head and used his Taser four times on Thomas, including three times as a "drive stun" for about five seconds each. Then, Cicinelli conducted a "dart deployment," in which two darts connected to wires were ejected from the Taser and affixed to Thomas for roughly 12 seconds. Thomas screamed and yelled in pain while getting shocked by the Taser. Cicinelli then used the front end of the Taser to hit Thomas in the head and facial area eight times, while multiple officers pinned Thomas to the ground with their bodies. All of this happened with no audible sounds from Thomas.

• Officer Hampton, Sgt. Craig and Cpl. Blatney arrived later in response to the calls for assistance. The evidence does not show knowing participation in an unlawful act on the part of these three officers.

Edited September 21, 2011 by JG55

[Guest clownsdd]

If they are guilty, they deserve the death penalty

[Guest GunTroll]

Sad.

[MattCary]

If there was any justice in the world, Ramos would be beaten to death while he begged for his life.

Every other officer on scene that didn't attempt to stop the beating should be dismissed and never be employed by LE.

That was a mob with badges.

If I understand the events as described by the DA, Thomas didn't sit the way Ramos wanted him to and because of that, now Thomas is dead.

When some idiot draws a weapon while surrounded by LEOs and ends up dead, he deserves it. When someone decides assaulting an officer is a good idea, he deserves it. When some thug resists arrest violently, he deserves the beat down.

When a man who justifyably runs away from a serious threat ends up looking like Thomas does in the hospital photo his Father released, some serious Medieval Justice needs to be dished out. If you or I put on gloves and told someone: "See my hands? They're about to F*** you up," they'd be justified in shooting us.

Ramos ceased to be a Police Officer at that point and became another stupid thug that deserves what he gets.

[Guest justluck]

Ramos’ attorney, John Barnett, described the district attorney’s charges as “shocking†and said they would have a lingering effect on public safety in Orange County. “Officers will worry that their actions could lead to charges being filed against them,†he said. “He is being prosecuted for doing his job. It’s just wrong.â€

From the link in post above, I found this statement by Ramos' attorney particularly interesting.

[Major Kong]

This post has been up for nearly 8 hours and I haven't seen any of the usual crew who defend any actions by the police as justified. Maybe there is no defense for this one...

[G27]

Friggen disgusting.

[vontar]

I expect this thread to be locked soon.

The other officers on the scene should have put a stop to it, but I get the feeling they knew those involved and due to friendships and the thing known as the thin blue line became part of the problem by not Serving and Protecting the one that could not protect himself.

[JG55]

I feel for

This post has been up for nearly 8 hours and I haven't seen any of the usual crew who defend any actions by the police as justified. Maybe there is no defense for this one...

Any fair reading of the news reports, videos and subsequent information on this would make it hard for anyone to defend the Police Officers actions. The DA in the news conference is describing some of what actually happened on video. Some of the before mention articles describe a vicious attack in some detail. No DA is going against a PO without strong evidence. The DA and Police have to work together.

I know this is emotional response on my part but to lose a son who is crying out for you "dad" "dad" while being savagely beaten by Police Officers just breaks my heart. I cringe whenever I have seen the video. I feel for the father. It was unnecessary and should of never happened.

For people who don't know what schizophrenia is, here's an exercise you can do Have 2 friends stand on each side of you and have another person sit in front of you, Now try to read out loud or tell a story so the person in front of you understands. while at the same time your other 2 friends are shouting and talking in your ears. Very Distracting. That's schizophrenia. One other thing about when you smile at a person with schizophrenia, they don' see i as a smile but more like a growl or threat, which might explain why Kelly was having such a hard time doing what the officer told him to do..

[Guest GunTroll]

No one will close this thread. No one is out of line....you call a POS a POS when he/she deserves it. All the LE on here, and the pro-LE never do wrong crowd can't argue against that.

Sad. Animals!

[MattCary]

No one will close this thread. No one is out of line....you call a POS a POS when he/she deserves it. All the LE on here, and the pro-LE never do wrong crowd can't argue against that.

Sad. Animals!

I'm pro LE. Until they cross the line and become, as you said, animals; then they are trash that needs to be dealt with properly.

[strickj]

This post has been up for nearly 8 hours and I haven't seen any of the usual crew who defend any actions by the police as justified. Maybe there is no defense for this one...

The difference with this thread and the other 2139497234 threads is this one has all of the facts. Versus a one sided story from the perp.

[Guest Ae-35]

It's the " us vs them" attitude, that has become so much a part of the LEO community, the para-military training an mind set taught to LEO's now days. Sad part is , LEO's complain that the public don't trust them or support them. When most don't have a clue.

[Guest drv2fst]

There are cases in society where the definition of sane and insane are opposite if what they should be.

INSANE: This fathers response is insane. Going on TV, going to news agencies, going to court..... I wish we could all be as civil minded as he is but it's just not natural.

SANE: The sane reaction for a father in this situation is to capture one of the predators (their occupation is not relevant, they are just predators). Stake him down and burn him alive. Record the event and his screams and send the video to his fellow predators and his family. Wait one or two years, and repeat until they are all done.

REALITY: Civilization needs us to be civil (therefore insane) when we want to do what is truly deserved.