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.
Unfortunately, the percentage of officers who do this type of thing may not be as small as one would think. Blacks, Hispanics and mentally ill people of all ethnic backgrounds can attest to that. There are hundreds of reports of police brutality every year in places like L.A.
It is ridiculously hard to prosecute or even discipline officers when they do something like this and since most of these cases happen with few eyewitnesses around, "unreliable" eyewitnesses and/or no recording of the incident, nothing usually happens to bring justice to the victims.
This kind of things scares the carp out of me. This is stuff that we know happens in Syria, Iran, Egypt. It's not supposed to happen here.
I have had a lot of respect for police officers as an adult, overall. But there is a culture that is well known which protects brutality among the ranks and that has to stop.
These officers are required to deal with touch and go, precarious situations on a daily basis. If they cannot control themselves when faced with an unarmed homeless man, how can we trust that they will truly protect and serve us all?
just[/I]* apply the band-aid (punishing the officers) to the symptom (death of an untreated mentally ill individual). Sadly, there are a number of dynamics that play into these sorts of tragedies. And they involve everything from lack of appropriate training, to job-related stress, to instinctive flight/fight responses in the face of threatening behavior, to a sort of pack-like mentality. These ingredients together make for a volatile, and in this case, deadly situation.
This is not to say these men should not be punished. In fact, afaics, the full force of the law should come into play where they are concerned. But let's go further than punishment. Let's take a look at what we, as a society, can do to prevent these sorts of tragedies.
Respectfully snipped by me for space.
I agree with your post. However, by all accounts, Kelly Thomas posed zero threat to those cops. He was sitting there peacefully and when they approached, he tried to run away. He never resisted from witness accounts, in any way. What they did to this poor man makes no sense at all.
Hundreds protest death of Kelly Thomas
FULLERTON Hundreds of protesters rallied Saturday outside the Fullerton Police Department, demanding answers and resignations because of the death of a mentally ill man after a violent confrontation with officers.
The protest was peaceful, but it was also loud and angry, with signs denouncing the death of Kelly Thomas as murder and chants calling for justice. Police closed a street next to the police station to make way for the protesters but otherwise stayed away.
http://www.ocregister.com/news/thomas-311097-death-kelly.html
I was there on Saturday at the protest. It was intense. I met Kelly Thomas' dad. I gave him a hug and a kiss. He is an ex-officer himself and has worked tirelessly to investigate what happened to his son and get justice for his brutal murder. As a result, Mr. Thomas has had to listen, over and over again, to his son's final conscious moments, as he cried out for his dad. I cannot imagine.
Witnesses say that after Kelly Thomas was already motionless on the pavement, another cop took out his taser and used the butt end, not to continue to tase Kelly, but to beat his head until the blood spurted out in high arcs. The pool of blood was incredible.
The people who witnesses this could not understand why what was happening, happened. They were shocked and scared to death.
I live in the city next to Fullerton and sometimes go to the train station there to read and watch trains. I graduated from CSUF as well. I've seen Kelly around at the train station. He is known in the town and should have been well known by the cops. He's a harmless guy.
If I had been there, witnessing his murder, I probably would have called 911 (ironically) amidst cries for them to stop. I can't think of anything else to do.
Fullerton PD has had some problems in recent years, including the alleged sexual assault of a woman in 2008. There have been complaints about brutality lately as the cops tried to crack down on drunken idiots causing problems in the downtown area at night (most of whom are from out of town). Nick Adenhart, a player for the Anaheim (yes, Anaheim) Angels was killed by a drunk driver in 2009 due to one of these drunks driving recklessly in the area. But apparently the response from the FPD has not been a good one.
It will be very, very hard for those who murdered Kelly Thomas to be brought to justice due to our laws. Public pressure is essential.
Please protest on-going media reports that refer to the unprovoked attack on Kelly Thomas as a "fight" or "confrontation". It was an attack, an assault on and a murder of an unarmed, scared man.
For any locals who can, please join me at the Saturday protests, which occur each Saturday from 10:00 to 3:00 p.m., in front of the Fullerton Police Department on Commonwealth, about a block west of Harbor Blvd. Mr. Thomas is there every Saturday, fighting for his son and really seems to greatly appreciate the support. There are also city council meetings and vigils at night (the last one was a candlelight vigil on Saturday night).
If we are going to ensure that we don't turn into a police state like the ones I listed at the top of my post, we need to be a voice for people like Kelly Thomas.
