CA - Two Fullerton PD officers accused of beating Kelly Thomas to death

I'm in tears--so heartbreaking. I hope those responsible are held accountable and brought to justice. There is no excuse for this kind of brutality.

I have been close......very close to watching that video, but I just cannot make myself hit that button.

The pictures alone are giving me nightmares. :(
 
Fullerton had their city council meeting tonight. was probably some fireworks in there.
It was confirmed today that all officers are on paid administrative leave now.
 
In my life I have had maybe a dozen interactions with police, most have been negative. I have never been arrested, try to understand their position in society and that they are necessary for our protection. Still, it's hard sometimes. It's a job few of us would want to do and so often they wind up with ranks full of psychos/ control freaks. I've had them lie to a judge, follow me home from a routine traffic stop and sit in front of my house (until I called to get them to move), etc. And, I'm a white male who's worked all my life and played by the rules.
I agree with a previous poster that the problem is getting worse lately. Everyone is on an economic edge and maybe that's why. I also just think a lot of cops regard the homeless as parasites and want to drive them out of society.
 
I went to Cal. State Fullerton. This makes me sad.
 

I am just not buying it. I mentioned my epileptic son is combative, difficult and aggressive at best right after grand mals.
One night he seized at the wheel and crashed into a wall. When he is coming out of a seizure he has no idea what is going on and in this case he has police and paramedic all around him. True to form he fought them off physically and cursed at them to leave him alone. It took 6 people-4 officers and 2 paramedics to get him into the ambulance! but they did not beat him up to do it. he was resisting in a major way, kicking,pushing thinking they were trying to harm him. he had no idea they were officers and EMT's.
While I think this was the exception rather than the rule in the OC, I am extremely thankful that he got this group. They just continued to overpower him until they had him in restraints. No tazing,hitting,beating or anything.

So,it is possible to subdue someone when there are 6 of you and the target is unarmed.
 
I didn't watch the video or listen to the audio. The one hospital picture was enough for me.

In these type of public incidences, I ask myself "What would I have done?" as a spectator. I would want to answer that I would have been so outraged and (brave) that I would have dared a beating myself and confronted the police officers. But I think (honestly) I would have more guts going up to a gang of criminals doing it than LE. I'm pretty sure the RIGHT THING would be to confront anybody doing this, just don't know if I would have.

This case is disgusting, but let's remember this is such a small percentage of LE who are animals like this. Think of the ones who stay up all night looking for little kids who are missing, who risk their lives for us, and who get paid so little to protect us.
 
I didn't watch the video or listen to the audio. The one hospital picture was enough for me.

In these type of public incidences, I ask myself "What would I have done?" as a spectator. I would want to answer that I would have been so outraged and (brave) that I would have dared a beating myself and confronted the police officers. But I think (honestly) I would have more guts going up to a gang of criminals doing it than LE. I'm pretty sure the RIGHT THING would be to confront anybody doing this, just don't know if I would have.

This case is disgusting, but let's remember this is such a small percentage of LE who are animals like this. Think of the ones who stay up all night looking for little kids who are missing, who risk their lives for us, and who get paid so little to protect us.

I agree, BrownRice. I have the utmost respect for LE, and all emergency workers. I mean the ones who do their jobs properly. We trust them to deal with the worst of the human condition almost daily. That's why I also hold them to a high ethical standard, as would most working in those fields. The few that are bad, give all of them a bad name. They like to kick those types out really quick.

The right thing to do may have been for bystanders to jump in, or not. We don't know what would have happened. Don't forget the police are armed. If someone had jumped in we might just be looking at two dead victims. So tough call. All those bystanders who spoke up, and will testify against them are doing the right thing. IMO
 
Dad: "Shock" over son who died after cop beating

(CBS/AP) FULLERTON, Calif. -- 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.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/08/04/earlyshow/main20087973.shtml
 
It is bad enough one has to try and protect againt criminals but how, oh how do you protect yourself against the police? Those we give massive power and authority to??? I really would appreciate any answers.

I can not listen/watch the video. Dear Lord! May justice come for Kelly Thomas and family. That poor man....
 
I used to live in Whittier, and we had a neighbor that lived in our apartment complex who was LAPD and was shot in the eye. From what I remember, he had been with the force such a short time that the LAPD gave him a hard time about granting him disability and he was afraid they were going to fire him. I remember it well because I had just broken my knee and we were joking about being the two 'casualties' in the complex (he was still heavily bandaged). This would have been in December, 1996. My husband and I moved a couple of months later, and I never heard anything about what happened to him. I really wonder if this is the same guy. It's been so long, I can't even remember his name.

This is a terrible story, and I hope that justice prevails for the man's family. I also graduated from CSUF, but I never spent time hanging out in Fullerton. I've heard bad things about several of the local LA/OC police departments, but I don't think I'd heard anything about Fullerton. I guess Fullerton is going to be the new Signal Hill.
 
Aw. I Just Saw A Picture Of This Man Lying In The Hospital While He Was Still On Life Support. Other Than His Red Hair, He Is Completely Unrecognizable. This Poor Father Now Has His Sons Crys Of Help Ringing In His Head. Knowing That Dad, Dad Dad ! Were The Last Words Kelly Ever Were To Speak In This Life. I Will Never Understand Why We Continue To Hurt Each Other. If Ever In Doubt You Can Never Go Wrong With Love. If Our Thoughts And Actions Towards Anyone Or Anything In This Life Come From A Place Of Love We Will Always Know We Have Made The Right Choice. It Is So Seldom That We Choose Love. And I Dont Know Why.

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A man whose homeless, schizophrenic son died last month from injuries sustained in police custody told CNN on Thursday that he turned down a $900,000 settlement offer from the city of Fullerton, California, and intends to sue.

Kelly Thomas, 37, was taken off life support on July 10, five days after he was shocked repeatedly with a stun gun, beaten with flashlights, kicked and hog-tied by six police officers, witnesses told local media. On a cell-phone video taken by a bystander, a person in apparent distress can be heard shouting, "Dad! Dad! Dad!" during the incident.

A photo of a man purportedly taken after the incident and identified as Thomas was posted online. It shows the bruised and swollen face of a bandaged, bearded man lying on a bloodstained pillow.
It is difficult to tell whether the photo is of Thomas. The man's battered features are virtually unidentifiable.
According to police reports, the incident began around 8:30 p.m. on July 5, when officers responded to reports that a man was trying to break into cars near a bus depot three blocks from City Hall. The officers identified the suspect as Thomas, who was known to frequent the area. An altercation took place between the police officers and Thomas in which he suffered serious injuries and was taken to a local hospital, police said.



The Complete Article At CNN ~
http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/08/04/california.homeless.death.father/index.html?hpt=hp_p1&iref=NS1
 

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I read the article and looked at the after photo. All I could think was OMG this is terrible.
 
This is reprehensible. I noted everyone I could hear on the videos was freaking out about how this poor guy was being treated not how he was acting. They obviously had Kelly under their control. This surpasses police brutality; this was beastly. There are just simply no words strong enough for how wrong this is.
 
Whoa that capitalized text makes my eyes hurt! And the story makes my heart hurt, I feel badly for the father of Mr Thomas.
 

Thanks for that. It definitely is the same guy, I recognized him from the picture. We all felt so sorry for him at the time. I remember hearing that he had always wanted to be a cop, and he was completely devastated that it was not going to happen. He was fortunate enough to get a second chance and this is the kind of cop he chose to be. It makes me feel physically ill to think that he was capable of this kind of horror.
 

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