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New Video in Deadly Fullerton Police Beating: "They Killed Him!" 8:57 a.m. PDT, August 2, 2011 FULLERTON, Calif. (KTLA) -- In newly-surfaced video, witnesses can be heard describing in full detail the events that led to a homeless man's death following a controversial confrontation with six Fullerton police officers. The OCTA bus video was recorded shortly after the July 6 altercation, which resulted in the death of 37-year-old Kelly Thomas. "The cops are kicking this poor guy over there. All these cops," one female passenger says, adding that she saw the "whole thing." The passenger, visibly shaken, tells the bus driver that the officers were pulling Thomas' hair and "kicking the (expletive) out of him." "He's all full of blood," she says, sounding shaken. "He's almost halfway dead," she adds. "They killed him," a male passenger later tells the driver. The man says Thomas was "just chillin'" when officers approached him and he ran away. He says officers captured Thomas and proceeded to "pound his face against the curb." After using a Taser on Thomas six times, the witness says, officers "still beat him up." "Then all the cops came and they hog tied him," he says, adding that Thomas was pleading for help. Police say Thomas fit the description of a suspect who was seen breaking into cars in a Fullerton Transportation Center parking lot that night. City cameras also reportedly captured the incident, and at least one high-ranking officer watched it from the police station as it occurred, KTLA has learned. The FBI has announced that it will be conducting an investigation into the beating, while Fullerton Police are investigating both the alleged vehicle burglaries and the brawl. Another video, released by Thomas' family, shows Thomas on the ground with officers on top of him while witnesses watch in disbelief. Witnesses can be heard complaining about police using a Taser on the man "five times." "That's enough," one woman is heard saying. Another witness is heard calling the officers "ruthless." Family members said police used excessive force in taking Thomas, who had a history of mental illness, into custody. Two officers tried to arrest Thomas on suspicion of possessing items stolen from cars in a Fullerton Transportation Center parking lot around 8:30 p.m. on July 6, Fullerton police said. Thomas tried to run from the officers, according to police, and they knocked him to the ground. The officers called for back-up as the struggle continued. Four additional officers arrived and helped subdue Thomas. The altercation lasted about seven minutes, according to authorities. Police say the fight ended when Kelly lost consciousness. Kelly was hospitalized in "very critical condition" at UC Irvine Medical Center, officials said. He was taken off life-support on July 10. Ron Thomas, Kelly Thomas' father, says his son was homeless by choice and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. "When (police) rolled up, he was by a vehicle. They wanted to search his backpack, and he turned on them," Ron Thomas told the OC Register. Ron Thomas said he believes officers slammed his son's head to the ground, using "excessive force." FullertonsFuture.org has published a very graphic photograph showing a battered and bloodied Kelly Thomas in the hospital. Two officers were injured in the brawl. One suffered a broken rib and the other had a broken arm.
Homeless-police relations tense after Fullerton cops beat homeless man to deathSourcePublished: Aug. 2, 2011 Updated: 11:52 a.m. Homeless-police relations tense after death By ERIC CARPENTER / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER FULLERTON – The death of Kelly Thomas in a confrontation with police officers has sent a chill through the local homeless community and has some who live on the streets fearing any interaction with the department. Several homeless people living in an encampment near Hunt Branch Library – which doubles as a police substation – said that their relationship with police has become tense since word spread about Thomas' death. Some said they plan to join other community members at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to address the City Council during its meeting at City Hall, 303 W. Commonwealth Ave. Thomas, 37, homeless and schizophrenic, died July 10; he was taken off of life support five days after a fight with officers at the Fullerton Transportation Center – about two miles from the library. Officers had approached Thomas while investigating reports of a man burglarizing cars. Police say Thomas became violent as two officers tried to search him, setting off a fight in which six officers were involved. Thomas' family members have accused officers of using excessive force. "Many of us have seen the video, and we just can't believe what happened to him," said Skyler Singley, 19, a former foster child who said he became homeless shortly after turning 18. He was referring to a cell phone video taken by a witness that captured others' reactions; it does not show the actual confrontation. "I don't know everything that happened there, but it seemed like he was just there yelling for his dad." Since Thomas' death and subsequent community protests, Singley said he has seen more police around the homeless encampment and officers have been more aggressive in demands that the homeless find another place to sleep. Billie Boies, 44, and her husband Robert Boies, 42, said that while they know they face a $100 camping ticket for sleeping in a public space, only recently has the tone of police officers become so confrontational. In recent weeks, they've been yelled at and cursed at by police officers who've shined bright lights in their faces and demanded that they "move on," Billie Boies said. "We don't believe we deserve to be treated that way," she said. "We don't have a drug or alcohol problem; we aren't bothering people. We just fell on hard times. "But we don't argue. We don't want any confrontation. We just move along." The Fullerton Police Department has one officer – Cpl. John DeCaprio – specifically assigned to interact with the homeless, said Sgt. Andrew Goodrich, a police spokesman. Because of the city's National Guard Armory, which acts as a homeless shelter in cold-weather months, Fullerton authorities have a lot of experience dealing with a homeless population. Estimates of the countywide homeless population vary widely, with the county's Community Services pegging the number at 20,000. Goodrich was asked via email whether all officers are trained to deal with the homeless and, in particular, those with mental illness. He was also asked if any changes in policy toward the homeless had been implemented since the July 5 confrontation. Goodrich said he was seeking answers to the questions with others in the department. Thomas' death has prompted some community members to react with compassion, said Robert Boies. The homeless encampment is next to a dog park. Park regulars recently brought over homemade food to the homeless people living nearby as a way of saying, "we care," the Boies couple said. Kenneth Baen, 60, said he wishes it would be easier for him to just "move along," as he's been instructed to do many times. "Most of us are only here because we stay at the (nearby National Guard) armory during the winter and know we can stay here after it closes," Baen said. "If there were a list of other places to go, maybe we'd go there." Tommy Jackson, 39, said he's been homeless for years. And the lesson he learned is to stay away from places where visitors tend to frequent, including the bar scene around the Transportation Center, where police and Thomas clashed. "In the places that bring in money for the city, they don't want people like us possibly scaring the tourists away," he said. "You know, it's about protecting the money." Concerns about tension with Fullerton police prompted him last week to move his shopping cart of blankets and other belongings just across the border into Anaheim to stay at La Palma Park. "For the most part – and I want to be fair – the cops have been good to me," Jackson said. "But there's a bad vibe right now. So I thought it best to look for a new home base." Jackson said his concern is less for his own safety and more about justice for Thomas. "It means a lot to me that so many people have rallied behind Kelly Thomas," he said. "We usually feel dissed and dismissed. This (public reaction) makes me understand people care." Contact the writer: 714-704-3769 or ecarpenter@ocregister.com
Fullerton cop brags about beating homeless peopleSourceFullerton Cop Allegedly Bragged About Brutally Beating Homeless Man Kelly Thomas Mike Riggs | August 2, 2011 The savage police beating of schizophrenic homeless man Kelly Thomas gets more bizarre and upsetting by the day. On Friday an anonymous man claiming to be a police officer called the John and Ken Show on KFI AM to express his and other cops' anger at what happened to Thomas. The caller claimed that a street camera controlled by a police dispatcher showed one cop beating Thomas with the butt of his Taser until blood splattered on his arms, and then dropping his knee on Thomas's face and neck. That same caller called the show again yesterday, this time disguising his voice. According to Carlos Miller, the caller alleged: ...that it was [a] one-eyed officer doing the beating....He said the quality of the surveillance camera is so good that it could pinpoint the freckles on a person’s chest once it is zoomed in. He said the district attorney’s office is choosing to not release the video. He also said most of the officers know the identities of the officers involved and many are not happy with what took place. He said they were turned off by how the one-eyed officer bragged about the beating and many officers have not been happy with his “heavy-handed tactics” from before the incident. Five of the six officers who took place in the beating remain on active duty. The sixth is on some type of medical leave. The one-eyed officer has been transferred to the undercover gang unit, the caller said. Friends for Fullerton's Future has identified the one-eyed cop as Jay Cicinelli, who was discharged from the LAPD after a suspect shot him in the eye in 1996, blinding him. Cicinelli was 26 and fresh out of police academy. According to the LA Times trial dispatch from 1998, a letter from Cicinelli's mother was read aloud at the sentencing of Cicinelli's shooter, who received life in prison for attempted murder. Here's what she said: "Mr. Jimenez, you have taken Jay's eye, his face is disfigured, you have damaged his arms, his legs and his stomach, his job is gone and his dream of being a police officer is gone." If Cicinelli was involved in Thomas' death, and gets convicted for that involvement, I'm guessing Thomas' parents--one of whom is a former police officer--will be reading a similar letter.
Hundreds Protest Fullerton Police Brutality after murder of Kelly ThomasSourceHundreds Protest Fullerton Police Brutality After The Disgraceful Kelly Thomas Killing By R. Scott Moxley Sat., Jul. 30 2011 at 6:30 PM Ron Thomas: The victim's father stood with the protesters On a beautiful Southern California Saturday more than 250 outraged local citizens ignored the chance to spend a sunny day at the beach, swim in their pools, shop at the mall or sip Mimosas on their porches. Instead, for six hours a diverse group of citizens--grandmothers, little kids, lawyers, college students, businessmen and women, housewives, ex-cops, young parents, a mechanic, a dentist, a construction worker, a guy who looked like he'd just left a gay leather bar--hell, you name a group and they were probably represented--stood outside the Fullerton Police Department, waved homemade signs and shouted in protest against a grotesque case of police brutality. Earlier this month, six Fullerton cops surrounded and savagely attacked an unarmed, 37-year-old Kelly Thomas until he was dead. By the time the cops were done, Thomas' face looked like it had been put through a meat grinder. Multiple witness say the cops repeatedly beat the 135-pound homeless man with their weapons, fired multiple Taser shots into his body, kicked his face and head with their boots and then, long after the man was subdued and on the ground, slammed their knees into his throat, apparently crushing it. (An autopsy report is pending, and we learned yesterday that FBI agents are investigating the killing. Investigators with the Orange County District Attorney's office began their own probe earlier this month. If they determine that the cops violated any California laws, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas could file charges.) "I am sickened by what these police officers did," one protester, a mother of four kids in Fullerton, told me. "I don't care what excuses they come up with. They should be arrested and charged with murder. Anything short of that would be another crime." Ron Thomas, the victim's father and a former Orange County Sheriff's deputy, agreed with that sentiment. Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson and Fullerton City Councilman Bruce Whitaker, both Republicans, attended the protest. They both said they want a thorough investigation into police conduct. "We can't ignore what happened," said Nelson, who contacted U.S. Department of Justice officials last week. Several members of Tony Bushala's Friends For Fullerton's Future, the blog that broke the Thomas story and has done outstanding work exposing police mismanagement of the crisis, also attended. One solemn protester carried a sign that displayed six imaginary cop heads on sticks--a reference to KFI's John & Ken "Heads on a stick" radio campaign against two-faced California politicians--and before-and-after pictures of Thomas. A vigil is planned for tonight beginning at 8 p.m. outside of Fullerton City Hall.
Fullerton Police - Silence about murder of Kelly ThomasSourceFullerton police draw fire for silence in homeless man's death By Abby Sewell and Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times August 4, 2011 Pressure is mounting for the Fullerton Police Department to break its silence and provide some type of narrative about how a homeless man died after a violent confrontation with six police officers last month. One Fullerton City Council member called for the police chief's resignation Wednesday, criticizing the Police Department for refusing to answer questions about the case or share information with the City Council. A second council member, Bruce Whitaker, said he was also troubled by the lack of information coming from police and urged officials to share more details with the public. "This, I think, historically is the most tragic thing that has happened in Fullerton, the biggest crisis," said Councilwoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, who formally asked City Manager Joe Felz to call on the chief to resign. "That means you're out front, giving the public what information you can give." At Tuesday night's council meeting, hundreds of angry citizens jammed into the overflowing council chambers, criticizing police for the death of Kelly Thomas, 37, and demanding that the city explain what happened. Many called for police Chief Michael Sellers to resign. "It's a failure of leadership from you, sir, and your department, and it has disgraced the city," Matthew Rowe, a former U.S. Army officer who grew up in Fullerton, told the chief. On Wednesday, in response to the increasing chorus of public criticism, the department issued a terse statement: "This was tragic for our community. We are in the midst of an investigation." While the Police Department remained largely silent, the attorney for the six officers spoke out in their defense. Michael D. Schwartz said Thomas was combative with officers. He said that contrary to the statements of at least one witness, the officers did not use a flashlight as a weapon. Schwartz also said there was "no excessive use" by an officer of a Taser on Thomas — countering statements made by several witnesses. "Unfortunately, public perception of officers trying to control a combative, resistive suspect rarely conforms to those officers' training, experience, what those officers were experiencing at the time or reality," he said. "This seems to be a case in point." On the night of July 5, six officers allegedly beat Thomas, a homeless man with a history of schizophrenia, until he was comatose. He died five days later after being removed from life support. Officers had initially approached Thomas at a downtown bus station after receiving a report of someone trying to break into cars in the parking lot. When Thomas tried to run and struggled with officers, the situation escalated. Council members said they had not been privy to many details of the case, including internal police reports and surveillance video from the bus station that officials with the Orange County district attorney's office say showed much of what took place. The video has not been released. The calls for Sellers to step down came despite the chief's action Tuesday to place all of the officers involved on administrative leave. One of the officers had been placed on leave shortly after the incident. The others were reassigned to non-patrol duty Friday but not placed on leave until Tuesday. The city has not released their names. Kelly Thomas' father, Ron Thomas, who met with the chief Tuesday, said he agreed that Sellers should step down. Sellers has not commented on the calls for him to resign. The district attorney's office has two dozen investigators working on the case. The FBI has also stepped in, with agents from the civil rights division investigating. Outside experts agreed that, whatever the circumstances of the incident, the department handled it badly by not communicating with the public sooner. "If you don't present the department's side of the incident, someone else will fill that news vacuum and tell the story," said retired Los Angeles County sheriff's Cmdr. Charles "Sid" Heal, a veteran of force investigations who has testified in dozens of cases. "…There are some things that could have been explained early in this case without hurting the investigation. A chief can always express concern." abby.sewell@latimes.com richard.winton@latimes.com
Dad in Shock over son's murder by Fullerton PoliceSourceDad: 'Shock' over son who died after arrest APBy GILLIAN FLACCUS - Associated Press FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) — In the nearly two decades since his son descended into madness, Ron Thomas has worried every day that the schizophrenic 37-year-old would die of exposure or illness on the streets. He never imagined the end would come in a violent confrontation with police. The death last month was the end of a trajectory that began when Kelly Thomas was in his early 20s and started showing the first signs of what would later be diagnosed as schizophrenia: he shuttled between addresses, preferred to sleep on the floor and stopped showering. In treatment, Thomas did well and was able to hold down a job — but when he stopped taking his pills, he disappeared onto the streets. He racked up an array of charges, from public urination to assault with a deadly weapon, and alarmed his parents with his bizarre behavior. "My daughter and I have talked for years that we'd get the call that something had happened to him, whether it was from organ failure because he's not drinking enough fluids or the elements or maybe gang activity," said his father, Ron Thomas. Last month, he was sitting on a bench at the Fullerton Transportation Center, a hub for buses and commuter trains where homeless people congregate, when six police officers arrived to investigate reports of a man burglarizing cars nearby. Police said he ran when they tried to search his backpack and that he resisted arrest. The incident was captured by a bystander with a cell phone, and bus surveillance tape released Monday showed agitated witnesses describing how officers beat Thomas and used a stun gun on him repeatedly as he cried out for his father. On the cell phone video, a man can be heard screaming over a fast, clicking sound that those on the tape identify as a stun gun being deployed. Thomas was taken off life support five days after the July 5 altercation. His father said Wednesday he was stunned when he learned police officers caused his son's severe head and neck injuries. "When I arrived at the hospital to see him, I honestly thought that gang bangers had got a hold of him like the cowards sometimes do and just beat him with a baseball bat in the face," he said. "Immediately my thoughts were to get with Fullerton police ... and I didn't learn until a certain amount of hours later the truth. That put me in absolute shock." A police spokesman, Sgt. Andrew Goodrich, said the case was an isolated incident. "We have a good department full of good individuals," [ Yea, I am sure the Nazis said the same about the Gestapo thugs that were busy murdering Jews for the government. ] he said. "We've made more than half-a-million law enforcement contacts over the past 4.5 years ... This is the only instance of this kind that's happened." Goodrich said officers receive training on how to deal with the mentally ill and the homeless. But an attorney representing the department, Michael D. Schwartz, said that "public perception of officers' trying to control a combative, resistive suspect rarely conform to those officers' training, experiences, and what those officers were experiencing at the time or reality." The revelations have caused growing outrage in this quiet college town. More than 70 people spoke at the City Council meeting Wednesday, and a city councilwoman called for the resignation of the police chief. Thomas' father and others were planning a protest outside the police station this weekend, the second in as many weeks. "My son needs a voice," he said. "Now, the people have become Kelly's voice and, yeah, I'm leading the charge." Kelly Thomas was an outgoing child who loved to play the guitar, participated in Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts and aspired to be a wildland firefighter, said his father, who raised him alone after he and Thomas' mother divorced. After his diagnosis, he went to a live-in facility that provided meals and monitored his medication, his father said. Thomas was able to hold down a job at a gas station and then a printing facility and even started to train with the California Department of Forestry and Protection. But each time he began to improve, he stopped his medications and wound up back on the streets, moving between Yorba Linda, Placentia, Fullerton and Cypress — all places where he had once lived or had family and friends. One of the hardest parts of his death has been hearing their son described as homeless, the father said. "That's the heartbreaking part for all of us. We all have ideas of what we'd like our kids to be like and to do in life. With Kelly, we didn't get to realize that and it constantly broke our heart," his father said. "Kelly wasn't homeless at all, he had so many homes, but he wanted to be a drifter and he did." Life on the streets led to criminal charges. He pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm in 1995 and since 2004 has had a string of arrests for a host of lesser crimes including public urination, trespassing, battery, unlawful camping, petty theft and vandalism. He racked up traffic violations for jaywalking and failing to obey traffic signals. His mother sought a restraining order against him in December 2010 after he refused to leave her front porch, took off his clothes and urinated by the front door, according to court papers. In the same court papers, his mother alleged that Thomas grabbed her by the throat when they shared an apartment, although it was unclear when the incident occurred. The family said they sought the order to try to get him into treatment as his behavior spiraled out of control. On the day of the beating, bystanders said Thomas was approached by two officers and ran from them. Bus surveillance video showed witnesses talking about the confrontation to the driver of a bus that pulled up minutes later. In the grainy, black-and-white video, a woman who appears upset says: "The cops are kicking this poor guy over there. ... He's almost halfway dead." A male witness says the man, identified as Thomas, was sitting on a bench when he was approached by two officers and ran from them. The man says police used a stun gun on Thomas six times. "They caught him, pound his face, pound his face against the curb ... and they beat him up," the man said. "They beat him up, and then all the cops came and they hogtied him, and he was like, 'Please God! Please Dad!'" The police department has turned over the investigation to the district attorney's office and placed on paid administrative leave six officers involved in the beating. The FBI also launched a probe into whether the officers violated Thomas' civil rights in the incident. People with untreated mental illness make up about one-third of the nation's 600,000 homeless, said Kristina Ragosta, legislative and policy counsel for the Treatment Advocacy Center. More needs to be done by police departments to train officers in how to recognize symptoms and deal with people with mental illness, said Elaine Deck, the senior program manager at the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Sometimes, an untrained officer can make a situation worse, she said. "Handcuffing them may escalate the behavior where the officer may think they are trying to calm the person," Deck said. "They may not know that this may actually escalate a response." ___ Associated Press writers Amy Taxin in Tustin and Thomas Watkins in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Fullerton pigs hide and hunker down till public's anger subsides?SourceOfficial: Fullerton Chief Silent, Hopes Beating Death Hype will Subside 6:50 a.m. PDT, August 5, 2011 FULLERTON, Calif. (KTLA) -- A second Fullerton City Council member is calling on the city's police chief to resign after a mentally ill homeless man, Kelly Thomas, was beaten to death during a confrontation with six officers. And, the council member says, the chief is apparently staying mum in hopes that the public will soon forget about what happened. "In my opinion, the chief should resign or he may be forced out of his post at some point," Bruce Whitaker told KTLA on Thursday. "I want the chief to put a human face on this and, rather than hiding behind legalities and rather than working through spokespersons, to get out in front and man up and basically communicate to the public," he added. Whitaker claims he was told late Thursday afternoon that Chief Michael Sellers and others are just waiting for the public to calm down over Thomas' death. "Hunker down, wait for the passions to subside and basically with no new information being released it's going to be… it will just subside." Whitaker says he's frustrated with the situation. "I'm very angry about it because there seems to be a tone-deafness about where the public is at on this." Fellow council member, Sharon Quirk-Silva, has formally asked City Manager Joe Felz to call on the chief to resign. If one more city leader steps forward calling for Sellers' resignation, it will be a majority voice of the council. Quirk-Silva says the chief has refused to answer questions about the July 6 incident, causing her to question his ability to lead. The six officers involved in the deadly beating have put on administrative leave with pay with pay for "their safety and the safety of the public," says the department. But the police department has remained largely silent. It issued a statement Wednesday saying, "This was tragic for our community. We are in the midst of an investigation." Chief Sellers declined an interview with KTLA. Meantime, hundreds of angry citizens attended a City Council meeting Tuesday night, demanding the city explain what happened. The meeting followed one day after a disturbing video surfaced showing witnesses describing in full detail the brutal beating that led to the man's death. The video was recorded on an OCTA bus just minutes after the violent confrontation occurred between 37-year-old Kelly Thomas and the six officers. "The cops are kicking this poor guy over there. All these cops," one female passenger says, adding that she saw the "whole thing." The passenger, visibly shaken, tells the bus driver that the officers were pulling Thomas' hair and "kicking the (expletive) out of him." "He's all full of blood," she says, sounding shaken. "He's almost halfway dead," she adds. "They killed him," a male passenger later tells the driver. The man says Thomas was "just chillin'" when officers approached him and he ran away. He says officers captured Thomas and proceeded to "pound his face against the curb." After using a Taser on Thomas six times, the witness says, officers "still beat him up." "Then all the cops came and they hog tied him," he says, adding that Thomas was pleading for help. Police say Thomas fit the description of a suspect who was seen breaking into cars in a Fullerton Transportation Center parking lot that night. City cameras also reportedly captured the incident, and at least one high-ranking officer watched it from the police station as it occurred, KTLA has learned. Another video, released by Thomas' family, shows Thomas on the ground with officers on top of him as witnesses watch in disbelief. Witnesses can be heard complaining about police using a Taser on the man "five times." "That's enough," one woman is heard saying. Another witness is heard calling the officers "ruthless." An attorney for the six officers has refuted the witness accounts. Michael D. Schwartz says Thomas was combative with officers. He also maintains that the officers did not use a flashlight as a weapon against Thomas, nor did they taser him excessively. But family members said police did use excessive force in taking Thomas, who had a history of mental illness, into custody. Two officers tried to arrest Thomas on suspicion of possessing items stolen from cars in a Fullerton Transportation Center parking lot around 8:30 p.m. on July 6, Fullerton police said. Thomas tried to run from the officers, according to police, and they knocked him to the ground. The officers called for back-up as the struggle continued. Four additional officers arrived and helped subdue Thomas. The altercation lasted about seven minutes, according to authorities. Police say the fight ended when Kelly lost consciousness. Kelly was hospitalized in "very critical condition" at UC Irvine Medical Center, officials said. He was taken off life-support on July 10. Coroner's officials tell KTLA that they can't comment on the cause of death because of the on-going investigation. Ron Thomas, Kelly Thomas' father, says his son was homeless by choice and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. "When (police) rolled up, he was by a vehicle. They wanted to search his backpack, and he turned on them," Ron Thomas told the OC Register. Ron Thomas said he believes officers slammed his son's head to the ground, using "excessive force." FullertonsFuture.org has published a very graphic photograph showing a battered and bloodied Kelly Thomas in the hospital. Two officers were injured in the brawl. One suffered a broken rib and the other had a broken arm. The FBI's civil rights unit and the Orange County district attorney's office are both investigating the incident.
Bomb Threat at Fullerton PD Amid Beating Scandal KTLA News 6:50 a.m. PDT, August 5, 2011 FULLERTON, Calif. (KTLA) -- Fullerton Police received a suspicious bomb threat Friday as they continue to investigate what lead to the brutal beating and subsequent death of a mentally ill homeless man last month. Officials confirmed Friday afternoon that a bomb threat was made at police headquarters. The man who made the threat claimed he was representing a group called Citizens Against Fullerton Brutality and that a bomb was going to go off. Sign up for KTLA 5 Breaking News Email Alerts The threat later proved to be false. There have also been death threats reported against the six officers involved and their families. Meanwhile, a second Fullerton City Council member is calling on the city's police chief to resign, saying the chief is apparently staying mum in hopes that the public will soon forget about what happened. "In my opinion, the chief should resign or he may be forced out of his post at some point," Bruce Whitaker told KTLA on Thursday. "I want the chief to put a human face on this and, rather than hiding behind legalities and rather than working through spokespersons, to get out in front and man up and basically communicate to the public," he added. Whitaker claims he was told late Thursday afternoon that Chief Michael Sellers and others are just waiting for the public to calm down over Thomas' death. "Hunker down, wait for the passions to subside and basically with no new information being released… it will just subside." Whitaker says he's frustrated with the situation. "I'm very angry about it because there seems to be a tone-deafness about where the public is at on this." Fellow council member, Sharon Quirk-Silva, has formally asked City Manager Joe Felz to call on the chief to resign. If one more city leader steps forward calling for Sellers' resignation, it will be a majority voice of the council. Quirk-Silva says the chief has refused to answer questions about the July 6 incident, causing her to question his ability to lead. The six officers involved in the deadly beating have put on administrative leave with pay with pay for "their safety and the safety of the public," says the department. But the police department has remained largely silent. It issued a statement Wednesday saying, "This was tragic for our community. We are in the midst of an investigation." Chief Sellers declined an interview with KTLA. Meantime, hundreds of angry citizens attended a City Council meeting Tuesday night, demanding the city explain what happened. The meeting followed one day after a disturbing video surfaced showing witnesses describing in full detail the brutal beating that led to the man's death. The video was recorded on an OCTA bus just minutes after the violent confrontation occurred between 37-year-old Kelly Thomas and the six officers. "The cops are kicking this poor guy over there. All these cops," one female passenger says, adding that she saw the "whole thing." The passenger, visibly shaken, tells the bus driver that the officers were pulling Thomas' hair and "kicking the (expletive) out of him." "He's all full of blood," she says, sounding shaken. "He's almost halfway dead," she adds. "They killed him," a male passenger later tells the driver. The man says Thomas was "just chillin'" when officers approached him and he ran away. He says officers captured Thomas and proceeded to "pound his face against the curb." After using a Taser on Thomas six times, the witness says, officers "still beat him up." "Then all the cops came and they hog tied him," he says, adding that Thomas was pleading for help. Police say Thomas fit the description of a suspect who was seen breaking into cars in a Fullerton Transportation Center parking lot that night. City cameras also reportedly captured the incident, and at least one high-ranking officer watched it from the police station as it occurred, KTLA has learned. Another video, released by Thomas' family, shows Thomas on the ground with officers on top of him as witnesses watch in disbelief. Witnesses can be heard complaining about police using a Taser on the man "five times." "That's enough," one woman is heard saying. Another witness is heard calling the officers "ruthless." An attorney for the six officers has refuted the witness accounts. Michael D. Schwartz says Thomas was combative with officers. He also maintains that the officers did not use a flashlight as a weapon against Thomas, nor did they taser him excessively. But family members said police did use excessive force in taking Thomas, who had a history of mental illness, into custody. Two officers tried to arrest Thomas on suspicion of possessing items stolen from cars in a Fullerton Transportation Center parking lot around 8:30 p.m. on July 6, Fullerton police said. Thomas tried to run from the officers, according to police, and they knocked him to the ground. The officers called for back-up as the struggle continued. Four additional officers arrived and helped subdue Thomas. The altercation lasted about seven minutes, according to authorities. Police say the fight ended when Kelly lost consciousness. Kelly was hospitalized in "very critical condition" at UC Irvine Medical Center, officials said. He was taken off life support on July 10. Coroner's officials tell KTLA that they can't comment on the cause of death because of the on-going investigation. Ron Thomas, Kelly Thomas' father, says his son was homeless by choice and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. "When (police) rolled up, he was by a vehicle. They wanted to search his backpack, and he turned on them," Ron Thomas told the OC Register. Ron Thomas said he believes officers slammed his son's head to the ground, using "excessive force." FullertonsFuture.org has published a very graphic photograph showing a battered and bloodied Kelly Thomas in the hospital. Two officers were injured in the brawl. One suffered a broken rib and the other had a broken arm. The FBI's civil rights unit and the Orange County district attorney's office are both investigating the incident.
We didn't plan on killing him, we just wanted to beat the sh*t out of him - Honest! Hmmm, say some skinhead beat the living shit out of a cop and killed him, would the DA say the same thing? D.A. sees no signs of 'intentional killing' by Fullerton police By Richard Winton and Abby Sewell, Los Angeles Times August 9, 2011 Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas on Monday said that he's seen no evidence so far suggesting Fullerton police officers intentionally tried to kill homeless man Kelly Thomas, but that his office is still trying to determine whether the officers used excessive force in his death. Rackauckas, speaking about it publicly for the first time, said the investigation is in its early stages and his office has yet to get a cause-of-death determination from the Orange County coroner's office. "As far as intentional killing ... I have not seen any evidence of that in this case," Rackauckas said. Thomas, 37, died several days after he was confronted by six Fullerton officers at the local bus depot last month. As they tried to search the schizophrenic homeless man, a violent altercation ensued that left him in a coma. Witnesses have described officers repeatedly striking him and shocking him with a stun gun. Rackauckas' comments come as Thomas' father revealed new details about his son's injuries. Ron Thomas said MRI and X-ray results from the hospital that treated his son show he had two forms of severe brain injury: one caused by a lack of oxygen and the other by blunt force trauma. Bones in his face had also been broken, said the father, who previously released a photo of Thomas' bloody, swollen, barely recognizable face. Ron Thomas has labeled his son's death a murder and said he wants the six officers involved to go to prison. The D.A. said he did not want to speculate on possible criminal charges — whether they be manslaughter or excessive force — until "all the evidence is in." Rackauckas said he has made the investigation a priority for his prosecutors and investigators, and is devoting extensive resources to the case. "I am reviewing everything that is being done," he said. The top prosecutor said he had seen a security video of the incident. Prosecutors and police have refused to make the video public, and Rackauckas said he cannot discuss its content. "It is a tragedy this happened," he said when asked to characterize the video's images. "My heart goes out to Mr. Thomas and [his] family members." He said his office is expediting the case by assigning extra investigators, but that it takes time to transcribe dozens of interviews and gather relevant documents. The incident, which prompted large protests at the bus depot in the usually conservative community, is also under investigation by the FBI. Two Fullerton council members have called for the police chief to resign, and rallies have drawn hundreds of protesters. Six officers have been placed on leave. The Police Department has released few details about what happened that night, other than to say that Thomas was stopped by officers investigating a report of an attempted car burglary and became combative. On Monday, Fullerton's city manager proposed bringing the head of the Los Angeles County sheriff's watchdog body to examine the July 5 incident and related policies and procedures, according to sources. Michael Gennaco, head of L.A. County's Office of Independent Review, has been brought in before to examine the Orange County jails after the death of an inmate. richard.winton@latimes.com abby.sewell@latimes.com
Hmmm ... Will Orange County DA Tony Rackauckas also say these guys had no intention of murdering the alleged child molester they beat to death? Like he said the Fullerton pigs had no intention of murdering Kelly Thomas Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas said that he's seen no evidence suggesting Fullerton police officers intentionally tried to kill Kelly ThomasWell damn, I guess it was just a run of the mill police beating to show these homeless bums that they ain't got no Constitutional right and that they ain't welcome in Fullerton or Orange County. Well I would like to personally thank Orange County District Attoreny Tony Rackauckas for telling us we ain't got not stinking Constitutional Rights! Trial Begins For Inmates Accused of Killing Prisoner They Mistook For Molester KTLA News 5:07 a.m. PDT, August 9, 2011 SANTA ANA, Calif. (KTLA) -- Opening statements got under way Monday in the trial of five jail inmates accused in the beating death of a fellow prisoner who was believed to be a child molester. Prosecutors said in court that Theo Lacy Jail inmate John Chamberlain was brutally beaten, sexually assaulted and found unconscious after the nearly 50-minute attack on October 5, 2006. Chamberlain suffered 48 rib fractures and severe injuries to his face and head, they added. He was allegedly stomped on and kicked by fellow inmates. Chamberlain, who was awaiting trial on a misdemeanor charge of possessing child pornography, was pronounced dead at a hospital. "These inmates decided to act as judge, jury and executioner. They murdered a human being in the most inhumane manner," lead prosecutor, Ebrahim Baytieh, said during opening arguments. A grand jury found that the three guards in charge of the barracks were watching television and exchanging text messages at the time of the attack. Prosecutors say more than 20 inmates targeted the 41-year-old because they believed he was a child molester. Garrett Eugene Aguilar, 28, of Anaheim; Stephen Paul Carlstrom, 42, of Anaheim; Jared Louis Petrovich, 27, of Tustin; Miguel Guillen, 48, of Santa Ana; and Raul Villafana, 24, of Santa Ana, are each charged with one felony count of murder. Each faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison, if convicted. Three other inmates charged in the slaying have pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Prosecutors say they only charged those whom they could prove killed Chamberlain. Jurors were expected to view photos of the injuries Chamberlain sustained in the attack. Source
Embattled Fullerton police chief goes on medical leave By Abby Sewell and Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times August 11, 2011 Fullerton Police Chief Michael Sellers has taken medical leave amid calls for his resignation as six of his officers are being investigated for their role in the death of a homeless man. Sellers has been under mounting pressure to answer questions about the night of July 5, when officers responding to reports of an attempted vehicle break-in near a bus station confronted Kelly Thomas, a 37-year-old schizophrenic homeless man who had become a fixture in downtown Fullerton. The encounter escalated after Thomas ran. Witnesses said officers beat and kicked Thomas and used a Taser on him several times. He died five days later after being removed from life support. City Council members Bruce Whitaker and Sharon Quirk-Silva have called for Sellers to resign over what they said was a failure to provide some type of narrative to the public about Thomas' death. They also complained that information had been withheld from them, including a surveillance video that captured some of the struggle. City Manager Joe Felz informed the council Wednesday that Sellers, whose annual salary and benefits total $228,576, was taking a medical leave of absence for an unspecified period of time. Capt. Kevin Hamilton, who heads the department's detective division, will take over command of the department. City spokeswoman Sylvia Palmer Mudrick said the chief cannot be fired while on medical leave. Hamilton could not be reached for comment but said in a statement that the city has "very important issues we have to deal with in light of the Kelly Thomas incident, and we will work with investigators from the district attorney's office and the FBI." City officials have also reached out to Michael Gennaco, a law enforcement consultant and chief attorney for the Los Angeles County Office of Independent Review, to oversee an administrative inquiry into the department's practices. "We wish Chief Sellers well, and we appreciate his efforts on behalf of the city," Felz said in a statement. Whitaker declined to comment on the chief's leave, and Quirk-Silva could not be reached. In a previous interview, Whitaker said Sellers "began stonewalling" when he asked the chief for additional information. He said Sellers told him he didn't believe it was his role to provide information about the case publicly. "I don't think he understands the police chief's responsibility to the community," Whitaker said. Councilman Don Bankhead, a former Fullerton police officer, said the news came as a surprise. He declined to comment on Sellers' handling of the Thomas case, citing an ongoing investigation, but said: "Up until that point, I think he did a fine job." Hamilton, along with Sellers, had met with Thomas' father, Ron Thomas, who has been an outspoken advocate on his son's behalf. Ron Thomas called Wednesday's announcement "fabulous" and said he has confidence in Hamilton. He added: "The mayor's next." Mayor F. Richard Jones, along with Bankhead and Councilman Pat McKinley, are facing a recall campaign spearheaded by local blogger Tony Bushala, in part because of the Thomas case. The six officers involved remain on paid administrative leave.
Dahhh ... How else did you expect them to write up reports that justified the murder????? Cops saw video of deadly incident with Kelly Thomas before writing reports By Richard Winton and Abby Sewell, Los Angeles Times August 12, 2011 Fullerton's acting police chief acknowledged Thursday that the department had allowed police officers involved in a deadly encounter with a homeless man to watch a video that captures the incident before writing their reports about it. Acting Chief Kevin Hamilton said supervisors allowed the review so that the officers would have a chance to refresh their memory and write an accurate account of the incident involving Kelly Thomas. But the practice is at odds with the way many other police departments deal with serious use-of-force cases. The LAPD's former inspector general, Jeffrey Eglash, said that allowing police to look at video before giving evidence is a "bad practice." "You want each person's recollection. I would look at the videotape like another witness," he said. "It allows the officers to conform their statements to other evidence rather than getting their independent witness recollection. It is not a practice that advances the truth-seeking." LAPD's practice is not to allow officers to review videos unless authorized by internal affairs, but the department allows an exception for footage from in-car video cameras. Hamilton said there was no hidden agenda in allowing the officers to see what the video showed. [Well, except to allow them to write reports that justified the murder] "Sometimes audio tapes or videotapes can refresh an officer's memory to what happened and then they can write about it," he said. "The videotapes were not shown to the officers in an effort to flavor anything." [Yea, sure!] The Orange County district attorney's office, which is investigating Thomas' death along with the FBI, has refused to release the tape publicly, saying investigators believe it could influence witness recollections. The Fullerton police have also rejected requests to make the tape public. The deadly incident occurred July 5, when officers were investigating reports of someone trying to break into cars at the downtown transit center. They tried to search the backpack of the 37-year-old schizophrenic homeless man who had become a fixture in downtown Fullerton. The encounter escalated after Thomas ran. Witnesses said officers beat and kicked Thomas and used a Taser on him multiple times. He died five days later after being removed from life support. Thomas' parents filed a claim against the city Tuesday, signaling their intention to file a civil suit. The claim alleges the officers "severely beat" Thomas "with their fists and with objects" and excessively use a Taser on him. The "excessive and deadly force" was applied to a person who "represented no threat of harm," causing Thomas' death, according to the claim. Hamilton, who has seen the bus depot video and listened to an audio recording of the incident, said the video does not tell the whole story, but it is a "pretty good video" in terms of image quality. "In general terms, I would say the video shows a struggle between Mr. Thomas and the police officers." He said there was no cover-up and evidence was preserved and given to prosecutors. "If the officers are found criminally culpable or the officers are found administratively culpable, they are going to be held accountable," he said. The acting chief said the six officers involved would remain on leave at least through the completion of the criminal investigation. He said he cannot legally release their names at this point and said they had already received "threats." [Hmmm they routinely list the names of accused criminals! Why can't they list the names of these cops who the public is accusing of being criminals] Hamilton took control of the 144-officer department Wednesday when Chief Michael Sellers took a 30-day medical leave. Mayor F. Richard Jones said Thursday that he did not expect Sellers to return. Sellers had come under increasing public criticism over his handling of Thomas' death. Two council members, Bruce Whitaker and Sharon Quirk-Silva had called for Sellers to resign because he wasn't being forthcoming enough with information to the public. The medical leave bars the city from firing Sellers, whose compensation package totals $228,576 with benefits. Whitaker said Thursday that Sellers had reported suffering from high blood pressure and signs of stress. Law enforcement experts said the method of dealing with videotapes in police misconduct investigations has become increasingly challenging as video use becomes more commonplace. Some police unions have demanded that officers have access to such tapes. richard.winton@latimes.com abby.sewell@latimes.com
Published: Aug. 14, 2011 Updated: Aug. 15, 2011 8:42 a.m. Hackers threaten Fullerton police website, email By CLAUDIA KOERNER / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER FULLERTON – The hacker group Anonymous threatened to disrupt the Fullerton Police Department's website and email after the death of Kelly Thomas, a mentally ill homeless man last month following a confrontation with police officers. The group is demanding the resignation of Police Chief Michael Sellers, the prosecution of the officers involved and the city to pay out $5 million to the family of Thomas, 37, who died July 10. Police said Thomas resisted while officers were investigating reports of an attempted car burglary. Six officers responded to subdue him, and a bloody photo showing Thomas' injuries has received national attention. As of Sunday evening, the police department's website was working normally. Anonymous put Sunday at noon as the time of an online attack. In an online letter dated Aug. 5, a writer signed as Anonymous accuses the police department of attempting to cover up the incident. The loosely organized group's unidentified members organize online protests and attacks on institutions believed to be involved in censorship "This is not just a brutal attack against another human being, but an attack against human rights," the letter said. On Wednesday, Sellers was placed on medical leave. The six officers involved have also been taken off street-duty. Sgt. Andrew Goodrich of Fullerton police said the department was aware of the threat from Anonymous, and is taking physical and virtual precautions. "Our citizens may be denied Internet communications with the city and police," he said. "However, city services including police and fire, will continue to operate as usual." Goodrich stressed that if fault is found with officers, they will be held accountable. "We are asking people to be patient and let the investigation be completed," he said. Ron Thomas, Kelly Thomas’ father, said he had heard about the threat and didn’t condone it. Instead, he said he appreciated peaceful support from the community and beyond. Supporters plan to continue protests at the Fullerton police station on Saturdays. “We’re not going to do anything that’s violent or illegal,” he said, adding supporters could also visit the Kelly Thomas Memorial Fund website, ktmf.org. In San Francisco, Bay Area Rapid Transit district officials were working Sunday on shutting down a website listing the names of thousands of area residents who are email subscribers to a legitimate BART site. Hackers who also say they’re part of Anonymous targeted BART after officials shut down underground cellphone service Thursday to thwart a planned protest on the recent fatal shooting of a homeless man by police. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact the writer: ckoerner@ocregister.com or 949-454-7309
Perjury, it's part of the job description for cops. Fullerton police review video, acknowledge arresting wrong man By Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times August 18, 2011 The embattled Fullerton Police Department acknowledged Wednesday that police arrested the wrong man on suspicion of attacking a police officer last year. The department has launched an internal investigation into how the mistake occurred. Fullerton's acting chief, Kevin Hamilton, ordered the internal affairs investigation after reviewing a video of the incident shot by the arrested man, Veth Mam. The video shows a different version of events than police described in their reports and testimony. "Based upon reviews of the video, it is Capt. Hamilton's preliminary determination that we arrested the wrong guy that night," Police Sgt. Andrew Goodrich said. "It was a very chaotic scene that night." An Orange County jury on July 7 found Mam not guilty of assault, battery and resisting arrest. The review comes as the Fullerton Police Department faces multiple investigations into a deadly encounter July 5 between six officers and Kelly Thomas, a 37-year old homeless man with schizophrenia. This marks the second case in which a video has played a central role in a Fullerton police case. The department has come under criticism in the Thomas case for allowing officers involved in the altercation to review a surveillance tape showing parts of the incident before making their official reports. David Borsari, who represented Mam in the trial, said the cellphone video Mam shot that Oct. 23 night ultimately saved him at trial. "It contradicted the police reports and testimony of the officers in every way," he said. "The video proved what they said wasn't true." Mam, 35, of El Monte said he was walking to his car after 2 a.m. when he saw a friend, Sokha Leng, being arrested by Fullerton police. Mam said he believed the police were mistreating Leng, so he pulled out his cellphone and began to record. On the video, a police officer identified as Kenton Hampton is seen knocking the phone out of Mam's hand. Another man picked up the cellphone and kept recording. Mam can be seen being wrestled to the ground by officers and arrested. In police reports about the incident, Officer Frank Nguyen alleged that Mam jumped on another officer's back and choked him. Nguyen wrote that he pulled Mam off the officer's back and pushed him away. The officer claimed Mam continued to approach the officers, who arrested him. During the trial, Nguyen and other officers repeated their version of events to the jury. The prosecution and the defense showed the video to the jury. The prosecutor showed the video to help obtain the conviction of Mam's friend Leng, who was tried at the same time and found guilty of battery, assault and resisting arrest. Goodrich said the officers did not lie about the events, adding that there was another man — but not Mam — who did jump on an officer's back. But the officers erroneously believed Mam was that attacker, Goodrich said. The actual attacker "got lost in the crowd." The attacker was wearing a Pendleton-style shirt, "while Mam was wearing a dark shirt," he added. Goodrich said the officer pushed the camera out of Mam's hands because the crowd was growing large and police were trying to push everyone back. Ultimately, he said, the internal affairs probe will determine what happened and those involved will be held accountable. But Garo Mardirossian, Mam's civil attorney, who is also representing Thomas' parents, said he plans to sue the officers and the Police Department in federal court over his wrongful arrest. The Fullerton City Council on Monday voted to hire an outside watchdog from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to review the Thomas case and the department's general policies. It came at the end of a heated meeting at which several speakers — including Thomas' father — called on some members of the council to resign. "Mr. Mayor, I came here tonight to offer you an olive branch, but when you open your mouth, I want to grab a baseball bat instead," said Ron Thomas, Kelly Thomas' father. "I am not going to resort to violence; you already know that.... I would like to … meet one-on-one this week." Ron Thomas and Mayor F. Richard Jones met Wednesday in private.
Cops increasingly under siege after homeless death By GILLIAN FLACCUS - Associated Press,GREG RISLING - Associated Press FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) — Until last month, the most pressing issues in this quiet Southern California suburb were whether to build homes on rolling hills north of the city, how best to preserve a historic movie theater and a downtown bar scene that got a little too popular for its own good. Now, the historic city that's home to five colleges and a vibrant nightlife is the target of international outrage after a mentally ill homeless man died following a violent fight with six police officers that was captured on camera. In the video, 37-year-old Kelly Thomas, who suffered from schizophrenia, can be heard crying out for his father over the zapping sound of a stun gun. The incident last month has ensnared Fullerton in an ever-widening array of state and federal investigations, resignations and rowdy protests — and things promise to get worse for the city before they get better. The acting police chief last week ordered an internal investigation into an unrelated, but volatile confrontation last year after reviewing cell phone footage that appears to contradict sworn testimony given by police officers in court. Public outcry over the new video prompted the department to acknowledge that officers may have arrested the wrong man. That man, Veth Mam, on Friday filed a federal complaint alleging officers used excessive force and falsified their police reports after arresting him. Mam, 35, was acquitted by a jury earlier this month on charges of assault, battery and resisting arrest, in part because of cell phone video depicting his own arrest. The two incidents have put Fullerton, an unassuming Orange County city best known as the home of a prominent California State University campus, on the map from Germany to Korea — and unhappy residents and business owners are hunkering down. The city, founded in 1887 in the midst of citrus groves, prides itself on its roster of refurbished turn-of-the-century brick buildings, a bustling summer farmer's market and a hopping nightlife in the redeveloped downtown with a jazz scene that has been known to attract the likes of actor Joe Pesci. Most families who move to the city put down permanent roots and enjoy the small-town feel in a county better known for its sprawling suburban developments and web of freeways. "It's a very friendly place, it's kind of low-key and because this has happened now that's all that anybody knows about us," said Michael Ritto, president of the Fullerton Downtown Business Association. "People are all upset, people are marching. I go to work and every day, all day, there's TV cameras and crews everywhere." The city's biggest quality-of-life issue, an overly active bar scene, has been somewhat tamed in the past several years but is still an issue for police. Mam's arrest last year happened as bars were letting out around 2 a.m. "They're telling people, 'Don't go to Fullerton.' Nobody here did anything wrong. [ So when the cops murder a homeless man, they have done nothing wrong? ] Why should the retailers suffer?" said Ritto, speaking of the protesters who have packed public forums and marched outside the police station every Saturday for a month. For Fullerton, things began spiraling out of control on July 5, when Thomas got into a violent fight with police officers who were responding to reports that someone had been burglarizing cars at a downtown transit station. Thomas, who suffered severe head and neck injuries, was taken off life support on July 10. The incident was captured from a distance by a bystander with a cell phone camera and surveillance video from a bus captured upset witnesses telling the bus driver that officers had beaten and repeatedly used a stun gun on Thomas as he cried out for help. The district attorney's office is investigating the death and the FBI has launched a criminal probe to determine whether Thomas' civil rights were violated. [ You can count on them to say the piggies did nothing wrong. As they always do. ] The City Council also last week voted to hire an independent consultant to untangle the events leading to Thomas' death. The district attorney has additional video of the incident from city surveillance cameras but authorities have not released it — or the officers' names — citing the ongoing investigation. [ That, and because they don't want to expose their police thugs as murderers! ] Police Chief Michael Sellers went on medical leave last week after repeated calls for his resignation [ You can't fire me, I'm on medical leave! ] and a recall effort is underway against a councilman, the mayor pro tem and Mayor Richard Jones, a retired surgeon who angered many when he said he had seen injuries worse than those suffered by Thomas during the Vietnam War. On Friday, attorney Garo Mardirossian, who is representing Thomas' family, announced he had also filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on Mam's behalf. He alleges that one of the officers involved in Mam's case was also involved in the fight with Thomas. Sgt. Andrew Goodrich, a police spokesman, declined to comment on specific allegations in the lawsuit or to confirm the officer was involved in either case. Mam, 35, was accused of jumping on an officer's back and choking him outside of a bar he and his friends had just left. His criminal attorney, David Borsari, said Mam was actually recording the arrest of his friend on his cell phone when the officer in question knocked the device out of his hand, and wrestled him to the ground where he was arrested. Another bystander picked up Mam's phone and captured Mam's arrest — footage that proves he never attacked an officer, said Borsari. The cell phone video was used as evidence by both the prosecution and defense during trial and Mam was acquitted on all counts. "Once they know that they've been caught, they fall back on, 'It's a mistake,'" Borsari said. "I believe it was a calculated attempt to file a false report to mislead a jury." Goodrich, the police spokesman, said allegations that the officers in the Mam case perjured themselves were false because they believed when they testified that they had arrested the right person. [ Again it's impossible for cops to commit perjury. That's because the correct term for a cop who lies in court is "testilying", not perjury. ] "I've said it many times, this is a good department that focuses on community service," Goodrich said. "There's a lot of attention focused on us because of the Kelly Thomas incident and we understand that and we respect that." [ They understand it, but they don't respect it. ] Prosecutor Rebecca Reed, who handled Mam's case, said her office received the tape more than a month before trial but no one reviewed it until she watched it on the first day of the misdemeanor trial in June. She relied on officers' accounts in building her case, she said. [ Translation - Why on earth should I investigate anything, when I can just believe what the cop said. And if somebody else says something that conflicts with the cop, then they are lying. ] "I thought it was reasonable that Veth Mam had been involved in this altercation before filming," she said. "The video did not show the whole story." [ The video NEVER shows the whole story when it makes the police look like a bunch of sadistic criminals. At least that's what the cops say. ]
Medical files detail homeless Fullerton man's fatal injuries By Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times September 8, 2011 A homeless man suffered brain injuries, a shattered nose, a smashed cheekbone, broken ribs and severe internal bleeding during a violent altercation with Fullerton police, according to medical records released Wednesday. The family of Kelly Thomas provided the medical records from UC Irvine Medical Center, where the mentally ill homeless man died five days after the violent clash at the Fullerton bus depot. The records show the immediate cause of death was "brain death" due to "head trauma" from the incident. No alcohol, narcotics or prescription medications were found in Thomas' system, according to records released by Thomas family attorney Garo Mardirossian. [So it's OK for the cops to beat a person to death if they are on drugs?] The findings raise new questions about the level of violence used by six police officers during the July 5 confrontation with Thomas in a case that has roiled Orange County politics. Police have said they were simply trying to subdue Thomas. Medical records show that in addition to numerous injuries, Thomas, 37, was also Tasered "multiple" times, including in the left chest near the heart. Thomas died after five days in the hospital when he was taken off life support after being declared brain dead. His father, Ron Thomas, said he decided to release the medical records in hopes it would help push forward the various investigations into the case. "This is also the right timing for the D.A.'s and coroner's office to step forward and let us know what they have. This isn't just a beating. It's an aggravated murder," he said. [But don't count on any cops being charged with murder or even aggravated murder] The Orange County coroner's office, however, has not completed its report or provided an official cause of death, said Jim Amormino, the department's spokesman. Toxicology and other tests by the coroner's office are still pending. The Orange County district attorney's office has said that determination of a cause of death is vital to its probe. Prosecutors are interviewing witnesses and reviewing a security camera video of the incident involving Thomas, who suffered from schizophrenia. Several bystanders witnessed the incident, and Thomas can be heard on another video crying out for his father as an officer repeatedly shocks him with the Taser. The FBI and a police watchdog hired by the city are also conducting separate investigations. The city has refused to release the names of the officers who are being investigated. An attorney for the officers said Thomas violently struggled with them, and they used reasonable force to subdue him.. Residents have organized a recall election targeting three council members who they say have been unresponsive to concerns regarding the incident. In the wake of the uproar, Fullerton's police chief stepped down, and City Council meetings have been mobbed by noisy protesters. richard.winton@latimes.com
He must be guilty! Why would he have confessed? At least that's what the cops are saying. I bet he thought if he confessed the police would stop beating him with the flashlight. Chicago cops 'argued the court should consider the alleged torture as the legal equivalent of a "harmless error" that didn't affect the outcome of the case' On the other hand I suspect spending 30 years in prison for a crime you didn't commit is better then being beaten to death by a cop for a crime you didn't commit. Ask Kelly Thomas who was beaten to death by the Fullerton California pigs this year. Ill. high court to hear police torture arguments Posted 9/15/2011 4:37 AM ET By Karen Hawkins, Associated Press CHICAGO — A man who claims Chicago police tortured him into confessing to a brutal rape decades ago will seek a new trial Thursday from the Illinois Supreme Court in a case that could lay the groundwork for similar appeals by as many as 20 other inmates. Stanley Wrice, who has been imprisoned for more than 30 years, says officers working for notorious Chicago police Lt. Jon Burge used a flashlight and rubber hose to beat him in the face and groin until he confessed to the 1982 assault at his home. Burge is serving a 4 1/2-year sentence in federal prison following his conviction last year of perjury and obstruction of justice for lying in a civil suit when he said he'd never witnessed or participated in the torture of suspects. While the outcome of Wrice's case is being closely monitored by several other inmates who say Burge's officers forced them to confess to crimes they didn't commit, prosecutors insist Wrice had his day in court and would have been convicted even without the confession. They've argued the court should consider the alleged torture as the legal equivalent of a "harmless error" that didn't affect the outcome of the case. Attorneys and legal experts say while it's difficult to predict what the high court will do, Wrice's case could influence how Illinois courts handle decades-old allegations of police torture going forward. The court could order that all inmates with credible torture claims get new hearings, as defense attorneys have asked in an amicus brief. Or justices could allow the cases to work their way through the courts one-by-one on their merits, as prosecutors want. The Wrice case is an opportunity for the court "to clarify the situation and create a road map for these victims to have their cases heard in a meaningful way, up or down, and move toward putting this all behind us," said Locke Bowman, legal director of the MacArthur Justice Center at Northwestern University, who represents several alleged torture victims. It's not clear whether the court will address the wider issue. Ultimately, the ruling could be focused just on whether Wrice has met the legal requirements to get a new hearing, or it could be more sweeping, said Doug Godfrey, professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law and a former prosecutor not involved with the torture cases. "This can let the Illinois Supreme Court go all over the place if it wants to, or it can be really narrow," Godfrey said. "They can use this as a vehicle to talk about the (police) torture cases" in general. Justices have received briefs from both sides on the harmless error question, but they'll have wide discretion on what they ask attorneys about, he said. In a friend-of-the-court brief, ex-Gov. Jim Thompson, former U.S. Sen. Adlai Stevenson III and more than 60 current and former prosecutors, judges and lawmakers asked for new evidentiary hearings for inmates who say their convictions were based on coerced confessions. The brief marked the first effort on behalf of alleged Burge victims as a group and not separate individual cases, attorneys said. Wrice is one of dozens of men, almost all of them young and black, who have claimed since the 1970s that Burge and his officers tortured them into confessing to crimes ranging from armed robbery to murder. Allegations persisted until the 1990s at police stations on the city's South and West sides. A Cook County paramedic and a doctor at the jail testified that Wrice told them about the alleged beating and that he had injuries consistent with his claims at the time of his arrest, including blood in his urine and bruises. The trial judge rejected Wrice's attempt to have his confession suppressed because of the torture, and a jury convicted him. Each of his attempts for a new hearing on his torture claims was turned down until December, when the Illinois appellate court ordered a new evidentiary hearing, citing a state Supreme Court ruling that "the use of a defendant's coerced confession as substantive evidence of his guilt is never harmless error." The court ruled Wrice had presented enough consistent evidence of his torture over the years that his claim should be reconsidered. The state's position is that the harmless error reading by the appellate court "is not the law," said special prosecutor Myles O'Rourke. Aside from the confession, the evidence against Wrice at trial included testimony from two eyewitnesses and the fact that the attack happened in his bedroom, prosecutors say. The then-assistant Cook County state's attorney who prosecuted the case, Terry Gillespie, said he's still sure of Wrice's guilt and that he doesn't believe the jury convicted him on just the confession. Defense attorneys insist that upon closer inspection, the case against Wrice falls apart. The victim didn't identify him as one of her attackers, and no physical evidence such as fingerprints or DNA linked him to the crime. One of two eyewitnesses has since recanted, alleging that he, too, was beaten by police to implicate Wrice. Wrice has maintained that he was home at the time of the attack but that he didn't participate or know it was happening. He's serving a 100-year sentence. If the appeals court ruling in Wrice is allowed to stand, prosecutors argue that all inmates will be encouraged to claim their confessions were tortured in order to automatically get new hearings, removing the court's discretion to review the merits of each case.
I have lived all over Northern Orange County, in Fullerton, La Habra, Brea, Anaheim, Garden Grove, Fountain Valley, Santa Ana and Newport Beach and the one thing I always remember is being harassed by the police. The only thing I want from the government is for the police to stop harassing people. We don't need any government handout, but we do need for the cops to stop shaking us down. O.C. has many Kelly Thomases Community wants justice in homeless beating case. All O.C. homeless deserve help. By YVETTE CABRERA ycabrera@ocregister.com You can turn away from the photograph of the swollen, beaten face of Kelly Thomas, but you can’t forget. So it’s not surprising that Orange County residents are indignant over the death of this mentally ill homeless man, who was beaten in an ugly confrontation with Fullerton police this summer. In the past months, residents have taken to the streets, protesting at city hall, the Fullerton police department and the district attorney’s office. They’ve demanded justice for Thomas, who died. They’ve targeted some council members in a recall effort, and some say that the police chief should resign. It’s heartening to see a community so passionately standing up for this voiceless man. But he’s just one of many homeless men and women who for too long have lived on the streets of Fullerton without that same voice. Where are the protests and calls for action when the county’s cold weather shelter program shuts down for the season? For years, Fullerton’s California National Guard armory has been home to one of the county’s two emergency shelters. But once March or April comes around, the program ends, and the chronically homeless are left on their own for the spring, summer and fall. They end up in our parks, in our alleys and in empty buildings. Do we turn away when we see those homeless? The unfortunate answer is yes. Whenever I reported at the Fullerton armory, a homeless person would approach me about being chased out of parks by Fullerton police. Homeless advocates have long dealt with this issue. The police give the homeless tickets for trespassing, for camping on public property. Yet, where are the homeless to go? Shelters are full, waiting lists are long, and so they end up on the street. Where are the protests for that? Where is the indignation for the lack of year-round emergency shelters and services to get the homeless -- particularly those with mental illnesses such as Thomas, who was schizophrenic -- the help they need. There’s no question that trying to get a mentally ill transient to cooperate is tough. But as I’ve seen at Isaiah House in Santa Ana, which gives shelter to homeless women, when you offer a bed and a hot meal, they will come. If Kelly Thomas had been off the streets, in a program and under a roof, could this tragedy been avoided? I think so. Miguel Boersma, who oversees the homeless outreach program at Calvary Chapel Open Door church in Anaheim, says the Thomas altercation didn’t shock him. “I thought ‘Here it goes again,’” says Boersma. “The homeless already get harassed anyway. One guy told me ‘At least this time the police got caught.’ Like with anything, there are good cops and bad ones. But did it really have to come to that?” Boersma’s church sits near the border of Fullerton, so some of the homeless who show up on his doorstep are from Fullerton. He offers them food, clothing and on Saturdays, the church organizes a breakfast with the help of volunteers. On Tuesday, I found Michael Moore, who is homeless, waiting outside Calvary Chapel, hoping to get an extra pair of pants. He says he’s lived in Fullerton for about four years and recently began alternating between Placentia and Fullerton. Before Thomas’ death, Moore says that when he was in a park or public space, he’d see police officers monitoring the homeless several times an hour. Now, he says, he might see a police officer twice all day. “Since the ordeal, they have mellowed out and made themselves scarce,” says Moore, a former air conditioning technician who hasn’t been able to find a job for three years and has been homeless for two of those. The real problem, he says, is finding shelter. He’s gone through shelter and aid lists as long as seven pages, only to discover that many focus solely on families with children. “But for single males, there’s nothing,” says Moore, adding that the handful of shelters that serve single men often have a long waiting list. This past winter, the county served 774 homeless individuals at the Fullerton armory throughout the cold weather season. Where are they now? That’s what Fred Olvera wonders. “A lot of people are up in arms now over Kelly Thomas, but where was everybody before?” says Olvera, who managed the program at the Fullerton armory for more than a decade until 2008. More often than not, Olvera dealt with a “not in my backyard” attitude from the public, which resented the armory and complained that it was a magnet for the homeless from neighboring cities. But aside from a few “bad apples,” he says most of the homeless he dealt with were grateful to have a place to sleep. “The homeless are always pushed down,” says Olvera. “They just need someone to let them talk, hear their story and give them hope.” We know the truth. The homeless have always lived among us. The question is will we turn away or will we work together to help all of the Kelly Thomases in our community? Contact the writer: 714-796-3649 or ycabrera@ocregister.com, or twitter.com/Ycabreraocr
This is kind of unusual - a cop being arrested for crimes he committed. But don't worry, the system is corrupt and he will almost certainly beat the charges. Fullerton is part of the Los Angeles metro area and in Orange County. Kelly Thomas: D.A. charges two officers with murder, manslaughter September 21, 2011 | 11:16 am Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas announces that criminal charges will be filed against Fullerton police officer Manuel Ramos Two Fullerton police officers have been criminally charged in the violent confrontation that left a homeless man dead, Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas announced Wednesday. Charges against police in homeless man’s death Officer Manuel Ramos has been charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in connection with the beating of 37-year-old Kelly Thomas, a homeless schizophrenic man. Officer Jay Cicinelli has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and excessive use of force. Rackauckas said the department reviewed 151 witness statements, videos of the beating, medical reports and police statements. The district attorney's office had been awaiting the coroner's determination on the cause of death before deciding whether to file charges. Officers approached Kelly Thomas on July 5 at the bus depot in downtown Fullerton while responding to a report of someone trying to break into cars. According to witness accounts, Thomas ran when officers attempted to search his bag. Exactly what happened next is unclear, but witnesses said they saw multiple officers hitting Kelly and shooting him with a Taser while he was on the ground. Officials from the district attorney's office have said they were awaiting toxicology and other test results from the coroner before making a decision on the case. That report was handed over to the district attorney's office Tuesday, but the findings were not made public. Thomas, a 37-year-old homeless man with schizophrenia, was a regular presence in downtown Fullerton. He died five days after the confrontation, after being removed from life support. Earlier this month, an attorney representing the Thomas family released hospital records that showed Thomas had tested negative for drugs and alcohol and that the immediate cause of death was "brain death" due to "head trauma" from the incident. The hospital records released showed that he suffered brain injuries, a shattered nose, a smashed cheekbone, broken ribs and severe internal bleeding. Thomas also had been shocked with a stun gun "multiple" times, including in the left chest near the heart, the records showed. Thomas' father, Ron, has been pushing the district attorney's office to file charges against the officers, and the case has sparked a furious reaction, including weekly protests outside the police station and a recall campaign against three City Council members.
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Kelly Thomas: Officers' audio recordings helped lead to charges September 21, 2011 | 1:25 pm A large team of investigators from the Orange County district attorney's office spent 11 weeks combing through a mountain of evidence in the Kelly Thomas death case before deciding to file second-degree murder and manslaughter charges against two Fullerton police officers, Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas said. Charges against police in homeless man’s death "Our office took this responsibility faithfully and seriously," Rackauckas said. "We executed the task thoroughly and efficiently." In all, six full-time investigators and one supervising investigator were assigned to the case. Twelve additional investigators trained in custodial death investigations also assisted, he said. A key piece of evidence included a 30-minute surveillance video taken from a pole camera at the Fullerton Transportation Center about 150 feet northwest of where the incident occurred. They also reviewed two cellphone videos taken by witnesses and six videos from Orange County Transportation Authority buses. The officers were all carrying digital audio recording devices. Those devices captured some of the comments made by Officer Manuel Ramos, who was charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. During one troubling exchange, Ramos leans over Thomas in a "menacing" manner, and lifts up his hands. "Now, see my fists?" Ramos said. "They are getting ready to ... you up." [ I suspect the dots or ... is f*ck as in "Now, see my fists? They are getting ready to f*ck you up." ] In all, authorities conducted 151 witness interviews, including Fullerton police officers, responding paramedics and other civilians. Medical records and downloaded information from tasers were also used in the investigation. A complete overview of the investigation can be read here.
Kelly Thomas begged for his life from 'menacing' officer, D.A. says September 21, 2011 | 11:52 am 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." 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." 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.
Murder a cop, go to prison for life. But when the police murder civilians at the most they usually get a slap on the wrist, if they are charged with a crime at all. Convicting an officer is a tough challenge, experts say By Jack Leonard, Times Staff Writer September 22, 2011 Murder charges against on-duty police officers — such as the one announced by Orange County prosecutors in the Fullerton beating case — are rarely filed, and successful prosecutions in such cases are almost unheard of in California. Legal experts said jurors who are naturally sympathetic toward law enforcement are not easily persuaded that an officer has committed the ultimate crime, even after seeing video of the death. Ira Salzman, who has represented police officers, said defense attorneys in Orange County will have the added benefit of jurors who look favorably toward law enforcement and can make a forceful argument that police had the legal right to use force against a non-complying suspect. Investigators interviewed more than 150 witnesses, analyzed video and reviewed stacks of documents as part of an intensive 11-week investigation leading up to the decision to charge Officer Manuel Ramos with second-degree murder in the July 10 death of a mentally ill homeless man. But to obtain a murder conviction, Orange County prosecutors will have to convince jurors that Ramos intended to kill Kelly Thomas or acted with a conscious disregard for life. Over the last two decades, prosecutors from Los Angeles, Alameda and Riverside counties have tried a handful of similar murder cases with mixed results. Last year, a Los Angeles jury rejected a murder charge against a Bay Area transit officer who shot an unarmed man on a train station platform, but found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Johannes Mehserle testified that the shooting was an accident when he mistakenly drew his pistol instead of a Taser. Mehserle was sentenced to two years in prison and served about a year behind bars. Previous murder cases against police officers have gone nowhere: In 1993, Ramos' attorney, John Barnett, successfully defended LAPD Officer Douglas J. Iversen on a murder charge in the shooting of an unarmed tow truck driver who was driving away from a southwest Los Angeles gas station. Two separate juries deadlocked on the charges before a judge dismissed the case. Even when prosecutors are able to win a murder conviction, the outcome may not be to their liking: In 1983, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Robert Armstrong was charged with shooting a pregnant woman and her fetus during an illegal raid. She survived but her fetus did not. A jury convicted him of second-degree murder, but a judge reduced the conviction, and — despite the fact that Armstrong had disguised his identity as a police officer and set up the confrontation with a false call to police — sentenced him to a year in jail. An appeals court later reinstated the murder verdict, but allowed the one-year sentence to stand. At other times, however, juries have shown willingness to convict law enforcement officers of manslaughter charges while rejecting murder. Ramos is also charged with involuntary manslaughter, as is Cpl. Jay Cicinelli, who arrived later to help Ramos. To prove involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors must show that the officers acted with criminal negligence. In 2003, a Riverside County case dealt with a local district attorney's investigator who was trying to detain a woman whose young children were declared wards of the court. He fired into a truck, killing the driver. A prosecutor argued for murder but got an involuntary manslaughter conviction instead, and the investigator was sentenced to seven years in prison. In the Fullerton case, "if they get a conviction on a murder charge, that would be extraordinary," said Laurie Levenson, professor of law at Loyola Law School and a former federal prosecutor. Jurors and the public tend to give police "the benefit of the doubt, especially where you have a fast-developing scenario," she said. But Salzman said Ramos' alleged threat against Thomas — "Now see my fists? They are getting ready to f— you up" — could give the defense problems. Police are allowed to use threats in an effort to gain cooperation from a suspect and avoid using force, but jurors could be offended by the profanity, said Salzman, who regularly represents police officers in court. The defense will probably have to call on Ramos to testify in order to explain what he was thinking when he made the threat, Salzman said — a risky strategy. "In most cases you want to avoid calling your client to the stand unless it's absolutely necessary," he said. "There's an old phrase: 'The case was going great until the client testified.'" In announcing the charges Wednesday, Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas said Ramos "set in motion the events" that led to the death of Thomas, 37. He said Ramos had threatened Thomas, showing "a conscious disregard" for his life. "A reasonable officer would know that acting the way Ramos did would create such a risk," Rackauckas said. Second-degree murder carries a sentence of 15 years to life in prison. Involuntary manslaughter carries up to four years in prison. jack.leonard@latimes.com
Recording of Fullerton cop is key in Kelly Thomas beating case By Joel Rubin and Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times September 22, 2011, 7:38 p.m. Before reaching the decision this week to charge a Fullerton police officer with murder, Orange County prosecutors recreated his fatal encounter with a homeless man from dozens of witness statements, footage from security cameras, and cellphone videos. The piece of evidence that sealed the decision, however, came from an unexpected source: the officer himself. An audio recorder carried by Officer Manuel Ramos captured a chilling exchange between him and Kelly Thomas, in which Ramos told the mentally ill man that he was going to beat him. Those irrefutable words, said Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas, proved Ramos was intent on hurting the defenseless Thomas and led Rackauckas to file the second-degree murder charge. Fullerton is one of a growing number of police agencies around the country that require officers to use audio or video devices to document their interactions with people. Although the technology most frequently helps exonerate officers accused of misconduct or provides evidence during a trial, police observers say, the Fullerton case is a somewhat rare and dramatic illustration of how officers' self-surveillance can serve as a powerful check on police. . "It can cut both ways," said Merrick Bobb, president of the Police Assessment Resource Center. "A recording allows the community and the department to see or hear what happened for themselves, instead of being forced to choose between believing the officer or the citizen. In departments that are trying to rebuild trust with the communities they serve, that can be a very effective tool." Ramos, 37, turned on the department-issued digital recorder strapped to his equipment belt when he responded to a call of suspicious behavior at a bus depot shortly after 8:30 p.m. on July 5. The department's policy calls for officers to activate their recorders, about the size of a deck of cards, almost any time they engage someone while on duty. The policy has been in place for over a decade, Sgt. Andrew Goodrich said. The 10-year police veteran found Thomas in the parking lot. Ramos, according to the district attorney's account, did not search Thomas for weapons because it was clear he was unarmed. Ramos grew increasingly hostile as a disoriented Thomas struggled to follow his commands. At one point, Ramos was seen on video footage of the incident standing over Thomas and pulling on latex gloves. "See my fists?" Ramos is heard saying on the recording. "They are getting ready to f— you up." Investigators' ability to match what Ramos said to what was seen on the various videos was a critical part of the deliberations about what charges to pursue. At a news conference Wednesday, Rackauckas called Ramos' words, "a turning point — a defining moment." "Ramos was telling Kelly Thomas that this encounter had changed from a fairly routine police detention into an impending beating at the hands of an angry police officer," he said. Ramos and several other officers went on to beat Thomas with a baton, to punch and knee him repeatedly as he was pinned down, to shock him multiple times with a stun gun, and to strike him in the face with the stun device eight times, Rackauckas said. After several days in the hospital, Thomas died of a crushed thorax, Rackauckas said. No traces of drugs or alcohol were found in his body. Along with the second-degree murder charge, Ramos was accused of involuntary manslaughter and remained in custody in lieu of $1 million bail after his arraignment was postponed on Wednesday. If convicted, he could face a life prison term. A second officer, Cpl. Jay Cicinelli, 39, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and using excessive force; Cicinelli faces a maximum prison term of four years. He pleaded not guilty and was released on bail of $25,000. Like many other police departments, Fullerton once installed video recorders in its patrol cars. Department officials, however, found the cameras too limited since they captured only encounters that occur in front of the vehicle, Goodrich said. Instead of continuing to invest in expensive in-car cameras, Fullerton police officials opted to switch to audio recorders that generally cost a few hundred dollars each. Despite the limitations, many police departments have continued to use in-car video systems. After years of funding and technical delays, the Los Angeles Police Department is in the midst of a multiyear, $20-million plan to install cameras in all of its patrol cars. The LAPD does not require officers to carry audio recorders. There are no definitive figures on the number of agencies with mandatory recording policies. There are several in California, including the cities of Riverside, Irvine, and Sierra Madre. Puma, the company that manufactures the recorder used by Fullerton, lists about 200 law enforcement agencies as clients on its website. In recent years, a few companies have begun selling small video cameras that hook over an officer's ear or attach to his chest. In Oakland, for example, about two-thirds of the department's roughly 650 officers are equipped with the video recorders, and officials expect to outfit the others in coming months. Police there must activate the cameras, which also capture sound, for all types of stops and download the footage at the end of shifts. "We wanted something to really capture the action," Sgt. Holly Joshi said. Pierce Murphy, the ombudsman for the police department in Boise, Idaho, said officers there have had to use audio recorders for more than a decade. In the vast majority of the cases — roughly 80% to 85% of the time, he estimated — recordings serve to disprove claims that an officer acted inappropriately. Watchdogs and officials from other departments gave similar estimates. But Ramos is not the first officer to have a recording used against him. In Boise, officers are occasionally heard using profanity, which violates department policy, and an officer was caught in 2009 threatening to sexually assault a handcuffed suspect with a stun gun, records show. A Dallas cop was fired in June and faced criminal charges after he allegedly turned off the camera in his patrol car and then stole a gun from a person. joel.rubin@latimes.com richard.winton@latimes.com Times staff writer Andrew Blankstein contributed to this report.
Kelly Thomas death: Officer pleads not guilty, on suicide watch September 26, 2011 | 9:41 am A Fullerton police officer charged with second-degree murder in the death of homeless man Kelly Thomas will remain in jail on $1-million bail, an Orange County judge ruled Monday. Office Manuel Ramos through his attorney entered a not guilty plea to a murder charge and a charge of involuntary manslaughter. If convicted, Ramos faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Ramos' attorney, John Barnett, told the judge that the Thomas case was not a "typical murder" and that typical bail should not apply. [ Your Honor, my client is not guilty of murder. He just kills scumbag homeless persons and saved the government the expense of jailing them. Ain't nothing wrong with that? Is there? Hell, he saves the government the expense of putting them on trial and locking them up in prison. In my view Office Manuel Ramos is a hero who should be given a bonus in his paycheck, not charged with murder. ] "This was a violent felon who confronted my client that evening," Barnett said. He said that his client was targeted by the district attorney because he was the first to arrive on the scene. Six officers were involved in the incident that led to Thomas' death, but only two, Ramos and Cpl. Jay Cicinelli, were charged. [ Yea and the other scum bag cops should also be charged with murder, but they probably won't be. ] Cicinelli is charged with involuntary manslaughter and use of excessive force. Judge Erick Larsh found no unusual circumstances in the case and left the bail at $1 million. Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas said Ramos has been on suicide watch.
I wonder if Attorney John Barnett blames all the Negros who have been lynched in the South for their lynchings? He probably would say if they would have had the common sense to be born with white skin they wouldn't have been lynched. And they deserved it too, for sassing those White lynchers. Officer's attorney blames Kelly Thomas for deadly altercation September 26, 2011 | 10:53 am The defense attorney for a Fullerton police officer charged with murder in connection with the death of homeless man Kelly Thomas sought to portray Thomas as a violent criminal who was ultimately responsible for the struggle with six officers that led to his death. "I believe none of the officers were responsible. Lethal force was the result of Kelly's actions," John Barnett, attorney for Officer Manuel Ramos, said at a news conference after his client's arraignment. Ramos pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. The judge left his bail at $1 million. Barnett specifically referenced Thomas' 1995 conviction for assault with a deadly weapon, although he would not say if his client knew about that conviction when he approached Thomas. In court, he said that even Thomas' parents were afraid of him. Barnett also defended Ramos' behavior when he approached Thomas, including a moment when he allegedly displayed his fists to Thomas and said "they are getting ready to f— you up." Barnett said that threatening a noncompliant suspect was neither a violation of department policy nor a crime. From the time of Ramos' arrest, Barnett has argued that the murder charge will have a chilling effect on all police officers. Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas and Thomas' father, Ron Thomas, took issue with all of Barnett's statements. "Every police officer knows you can't threaten to beat someone up," Rackauckas said. "You can't say 'I'm going to f— you up.'" He also pointed out that Kelly's assault conviction was 17 years ago, and that there was no indication the officers were aware of it when they approached him on the night of July 5 while investigating a report of attempted car break-ins at the Fullerton Transportation Center. He also disagreed with Barnett's statement that the case would have a chilling effect on other officers. [ Damn right. You charge one cop with murder for beating some homeless guy to death and next thing you know other cops will be terrified to beat homeless people to death. How do you expect a cop to do his job if he can't murder people he considers vermin. At least that's how the cops feel about this ] Ron Thomas said he was pleased with the judge's decision to leave Ramos' bail set at $1 million, and contrary to Barnett's statement, that he had never been afraid of his son. The judge ordered Ramos to be moved from the Orange County central jail in Santa Ana to the Santa Ana city jail, largely because of the costs associated with keeping the officer in isolation at the central jail. Ramos' next appearance is set for Nov. 4.
Fullerton cops rails bail money for fellow murderer Fullerton Officer Manuel Ramos released on bail September 29, 2011 | 4:50 am Fullerton police officer Manuel Ramos Fullerton police officer Manuel Ramos, accused of second-degree murder in the death of Kelly Thomas, a homeless man, has bailed out of jail, according to the Orange County Jail's inmate-locator website. The website lists Ramos as "released" shortly after midnight Thursday, with "bond posted." News services were reporting Wednesday that fellow Fullerton officers were collecting money to pay his $1-million bail. Ramos, 37, a 10-year veteran of the department, was one of two officers charged last week by Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckus in the death of Thomas, who suffered from schizophrenia, in downtown Fullerton in July. The case is believed to be the first time an on-duty police officer has been charged with murder in Orange County. Ramos' attorney, John Barnett, said Thomas had a violent side and provoked the officers. Another officer, Cpl. Jay Cicinelli, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter. He posted $25,000 bail shortly after his arrest.
Fullerton pigs in the news again!!! This piggy only got a slap on the wrist for feeling up woman he arrested. With that in mind I will assume that the city of Fullerton approves of his outrageous criminal behavior! Fullerton Cop Accused of Sexual Assault by 12 Women KTLA News 11:12 p.m. PDT, September 29, 2011 FULLERTON, Calif. (KTLA) -- KTLA has learned that the city of Fullerton has reached a tentative agreement to settle a lawsuit with two women, claiming one of their officers sexually assaulted several women. But court documents reveal that as far back as 2008, 12 women have accused the same officer of sexually assaulting them. The women alleged that Officer Albert Rincon would arrest them and then grope their breasts. The Fullerton Police Department investigated the allegations and reprimanded Rincon for violating the city's pat-down policy. Initially, Rincon was placed on administrative leave. He was put back on active duty only to be taken off the streets again two months ago, when a lawsuit was filed against the city of Fullerton. Now, federal Judge Andrew Guilford is issuing a scathing opinion about how the city has handled the allegations against Rincon. "Most shocking is the City's weak 'reprimand' of Rincon," Guilford writes. "He would either make sexual propositions to the women, touch them inappropriately, or both." Police protocol dictates that when male officers arrest a woman, they should call for a female officer, or at least have another officer witness the arrest. But Rincon admits that he has never done that once in his career. He also admits that, as he was walking his alleged victims to his patrol car, he would turn off the audio recorder he was wearing on his uniform. "This means Rincon chose to leave no audio recording of the arrest," says Judge Guilford. As to why, Guilford says, "Rincon had no explanation." The Orange County District Attorney's office investigated the allegations, but decided not to prosecute officer Rincon. The DA's office says several of the victims knew each other, and met in advance and discussed their stories. Judge Guilford says that, "At the end of the day, the City put Rincon back on the streets to continue arresting women, despite a pattern of sexual harassment allegations." "A reasonable juror could conclude based on these facts, that the City simply did not care what its officer did to women during arrests."
The Fullerton City Council still has to approve the settlement with two of the alleged victims.
One of the Fullerton pigs who beat Kelly Thomas to death gets a disability pension because of an injury when he worked for the LAPD which makes it impossible for him to work as a cop.
Wow those pigs sure have low standards on handing out disability pensions.
Fullerton officer charged in beating death gets big L.A. pension
By Abby Sewell, Los Angeles Times
November 6, 2011
Los Angeles officials are calling for a review of the pension given to one of the two Fullerton police officers charged in the beating death of a homeless man.
Jay Cicinelli, a former Los Angeles Police Department officer who lost an eye when he was shot on the job in 1996 during a routine traffic stop, receives 70% of his salary as a disability pension. City officials approved the large sum because it was unclear at the time whether he could again work in law enforcement.
But Cicinelli soon got a job with the Fullerton Police Department, where he eventually earned $88,544 a year on top of his $39,625 in pension benefits from L.A.
The issue came to the attention of the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions Department after Cicinelli's name surfaced as one of the six officers involved in the incident that led to the death of Kelly Thomas.
That led department staff members to ask the board to review his award. A review would not lead to the pension being eliminated altogether, but it could mean Cicinelli's benefits would be reduced to 30% of his final salary. The board will vote soon on whether to launch the review.
It's rare for the board to reduce a pensioner's benefits: Officials said they have done it 14 times since 1985.
Emails between city staffers obtained by The Times showed that there was concern about Cicinelli's pension as early as August, after the "John and Ken Show" on KFI-AM (640) disclosed leaked names of the officers involved.
After the Orange County district attorney released the names and the city of Fullerton announced that Cicinelli and Officer Manuel Ramos would be placed on unpaid leave, a Los Angeles police pension department employee wrote in an Oct. 11 email, "We might get some unwanted attention if anybody notices that he will still be getting paid 70% of a P-II salary (tax-free) from LAFPP until we're allowed to get the Board to address it?"
Cicinelli's attorney could not be reached for comment.
Cicinelli lost his left eye in the shooting and suffered gastrointestinal injuries and a fractured pelvis, among other injuries. He fought to return to patrol duty despite his injuries, but in the end was awarded a lifetime disability pension of 70% of his salary.
He then worked 12 years with the Fullerton Police Department, where he rose to the rank of corporal.
Cicinelli is charged with involuntary manslaughter and excessive use of force in the death of Thomas, a homeless man with schizophrenia who died after a struggle with six Fullerton officers at the downtown transit center.
Ramos was charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. The other four officers involved were not charged.
The city of Fullerton placed Cicinelli and Ramos on unpaid leave in October, after the district attorney announced the charges against them. The other officers remain on paid leave pending the outcome of a city-commissioned review of the Police Department.
At the Los Angeles pension disability hearing 13 years ago where Cicinelli was awarded the pension, a commissioner asked, "What are we looking at in the future for this young man that has lost his career? We have no way to determine when somebody takes a gunshot wound in those areas what type of limitations they will have in years to come."
Then-Chief Bernard C. Parks had opposed the young officer returning to active duty but wrote to the board, "It is my strongly felt position that Officer Jay Cicinelli is deserving of a generous disability pension to assist him in rebuilding his life and providing for his future."
Staff members recommended a 40% pension, but the board voted to give him 70%.
Pat McKinley, the former Fullerton police chief who now sits on the City Council, told The Times that he had hired Cicinelli at the recommendation of LAPD Deputy Chief Michael Hillman and that Cicinelli underwent psychological testing before being hired.
There has been no suggestion that Cicinelli's injuries played a role in the Thomas incident.
abby.sewell@latimes.com
While you may have heard that roadblocks are legal
to look for drunk drivers, that is true, the Supremes
have said that there is a secret exception to the
Constitution which allows the cops to set up roadblocks
looking for drunk drivers.
I have not heard of any Supreme Court rulings that
allow the cops to stop anyone and everyone to search
for criminals other then drunk drivers.
Police searching for serial killer set up roadblocks in O.C.
January 11, 2012 | 7:42 am
A motorist holds a flier distributed by law enforcement officials
A street outside the Placentia shopping center where a homeless man was killed became an arena for questioning Tuesday night, as police continued to search for a suspected serial killer.
One by one, drivers were stopped and questioned by law enforcement officials involved with investigating three killings of homeless men that are believed to be connected, the first of which occurred Dec. 20.
Fliers with a grainy photograph of the suspected killer taken on a surveillance camera and a white Toyota Corolla believed to be connected to the crimes were handed out to drivers.
After a third man, identified as Paulus Smit, 57, was found dead outside a library in Yorba Linda on Dec. 30, police formed a task force with five agencies, including the FBI, to investigate the killings. Two days earlier, police had found Lloyd Middaugh, 42, near a riverbed trail in Anaheim. Investigators believe the deaths are the work of a serial killer.
In an effort to generate more tips and contacts in the community, police interviewed hundreds of drivers and vehicle passengers -- many of whom were on their way home -- about any knowledge of the crimes, and in particular, if they knew James Patrick McGillivray, 53, the first victim to be stabbed to death.
Some people nervously shook their heads when asked whether they knew anything about the crime. Others, such as Naomi Frenzel, 21, complimented police.
Frenzel, who said she lived down the street, was still in her white EMT uniform when she was stopped by FBI agents.
"If anything does pop up, I'll give you a call," she told two men, one clutching a clipboard. She added she has the non-emergency police number programmed into her cellphone.
Others were on their way to grab dinner or a quick coffee at a nearby Starbucks.
A woman driving a black Yukon told officials she drives the route nearly every day. She had seen McGillivray on the streets occasionally but had never spoken with him. She didn't know anything about the white car, either.
"I'm out here all the time," she said. "I see so many white cars."
She wished the agents luck in catching the killer.
"I hope you guys catch this guy," she told police before driving away.
Sgt. Bob Dunn, the spokesman for the Anaheim Police Department, said this is the first time in recent memory that he can recall a roadblock such as this occurring in Orange County. But, he said, it shows a commitment to catching the killer and could prove useful for investigators.
"We want as many people to drive by as possible," he said.
At the end of the night, he was hopeful.
"We definitely have information we can follow up on," he said, as investigators began gathering orange cones.
More
articles
on the murder of Kelly Thomas by the Fullerton, California Police.
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