California Cops Beat Mentally Ill Man To Death

[Kirk Freeman]

Well, the trial has started and the scumbags defending the murderers are trying to blame the murder victim for his own death. Pathetic.

You expect them to . . . do what exactly?

 

[mrjarrell]

Reason had a reporter at the trial, too. Looks like the DA wants them to punished for murdering an innocent man. Here's hoping they get what they truly deserve.

Replay: Fullerton Cops Go on Trial for Killing Schizophrenic Homeless Man Kelly Thomas - Hit & Run : Reason.com

 

[XMil]

There's no way that's going to happen, but they might spend a couple of months in jail.

 

[lucky4034]

There's no way that's going to happen, but they might spend a couple of months in jail.

or they might get paid administrative leave

 

[mrjarrell]

A miscarriage of justice and proof that juries do get things completely wrong sometimes and let murderers walk. Here's hoping that karma catches up with these scumbags at some point in the future. At the very least they deserve what they dished out.

Police not guilty in Kelly Thomas death; DA won't try 3rd officer - latimes.com

 

[phylodog]

I'm going to go out on a limb and speculate that the jurors had more information on what actually transpired than the entirety of INGO combined yet it's a miscarriage of justice? Why so? Because the accused did not get convicted? If it were anyone other than cops in this trial would the sentiment be the same? I thought INGO seemed to have more faith in the power of the jury and an expectation that if the State's burden of proof was not met, the accused should go free.

 

[mrjarrell]

KTLA coverage of it.
Ex-Officers Found Not Guilty in Kelly Thomas? Beating Death | KTLA 5

As for philo...We all saw the and heard the videos. We saw the aftermath of their beating of him. The same beating that killed him. I have some faith in juries, but not a great deal. I've seen them let too many bad guys walk. Some of them wore badges, many didn't. And yes, if these had not been cops in this case, I would have said the same thing if they'd have walked. A travesty of justice.

 

[phylodog]

I was just asking. If I knew the specifics of the case I've long since forgotten and I have just as much distrust for juries but I'll admit to being jaded in that regard.

 

[rambone]

"What this means is that all of us need to be very afraid now," said Ron Thomas, a retired sheriff's deputy and father of the deceased. "Its carte blanche for police officers everywhere to kill us, beat us, whatever they want. It has been proven right here today that they'll get away with it."

"I guess its legal to go out and kill," said the victim's mother, Cathy Thomas.

 

[saberstar]

I read all of the posts and I reviewed the video. This from all the information I have seen this is an injustice. I can only pray that justice is served in some way for the victim.

 

[rambone]

Fullerton Police Officer Stephen Rubio testified in court on the behalf of the defense. He said that he had trained Cicinelli and Ramos, and that he watched the 33-minute surveillance video of Kelly Thomas’s death. He testified that the only “slight” violation of department policy that he witnessed was the use of profanity.

“These peace officers were doing their jobs," said the defense attorney representing the police. "They were operating as they were trained.”


Uniformed killers walk free after beating and tasing unarmed homeless man to death | Police State USA

 

[ghuns]

If it were anyone other than cops in this trial would the sentiment be the same?

Can you imagine a scenario where anyone else, and their 5 non-police buddies could hold a man down and beat him to death where they would not ALL go to jail for a long, long time? I can't.

I agree that we cannot know everything the jury knows, but damn. The pics and video should have made it a slam dunk.

 

[Denny347]

Can you imagine a scenario where anyone else, and their 5 non-police buddies could hold a man down and beat him to death where they would not ALL go to jail for a long, long time? I can't.

I agree that we cannot know everything the jury knows, but damn. The pics and video should have made it a slam dunk.

One would think, but it didn't. I wonder what they know that we do not? Juries are a strange animal that is unpredictable and sometimes beyond reason. Never the less it is the best system of justice there is, even with all its faults.

 

[rambone]

I'm going to go out on a limb and speculate that the jurors had more information on what actually transpired than the entirety of INGO combined....

I agree that we cannot know everything the jury knows, but damn. The pics and video should have made it a slam dunk.

I wonder what they know that we do not?

FBI special agent John A. Wilson studied the case for 60 hours and provided his expert testimony. He trains agents on the use of force. He was privy to the case details. He said that the cops picked a fight, their force was excessive, and that the victim had a right to defend himself.

When he suggested that Kelly Thomas could have fought back, the crowd full of cops hissed with disapproval.

The Orange County Register:

Among other things, Wilson testified that Cicinelli's use of his Taser as an impact weapon on Thomas' head “would not be good, proper police procedure” and could be considered deadly force “in excess of what a reasonable officer … would do to gain control of the situation.”

Los Angeles Times:

Wilson said officers should have stopped hitting Thomas after he started complaining that he couldn't breathe and a pool of blood started forming on the concrete. He also noted that officers should've considered letting Thomas go because he was not an immediate threat early in the encounter.

John Barnett, Ramos' attorney, asked if Thomas would have posed a greater threat if he had taken a swing at Ramos when they were on the ground. "At this point Mr. Thomas is defending himself, not resisting," Wilson said. "If excessive force was used … he has the right to defend himself."

OC Weekly:

[Wilson]said that officer Manuel Ramos began the minor encounter unnecessarily by immediately taking out his baton, swinging it in both hands and poking it at the victim, who hadn't been physically threatening.

But, according to Wilson, the most unprofessional moment prior to the killing occurred when Ramos mocked the schizophrenia-addled Thomas as stupid, dramatically put on gloves as he towered over him and said, "Now, you see my fists? They're getting ready to **** you up."

District Attorney Tony Rackauckas played related portions of a surveillance tape of the brutality and, over Ramos defense lawyer John Barnett's incessant objections, asked Wilson if he considered the cop conduct appropriate under the circumstances.

"Clearly, no," replied the 26-year FBI veteran, who at one point served on the U.S. Attorney General's protection detail in Washington, D.C. "I have problems with everything that happened after Ramos put the gloves on."

 

[Denny347]

FBI special agent John A. Wilson studied the case for 60 hours and provided his expert testimony. He trains agents on the use of force. He was privy to the case details. He said that the cops picked a fight, their force was excessive, and that the victim had a right to defend himself.

When he suggested that Kelly Thomas could have fought back, the crowd full of cops hissed with disapproval.

The Orange County Register:


Los Angeles Times:


OC Weekly:

​

I still wonder what their reasoning was for their verdict. SOMETHING swayed them.

 

[lucky4034]

I still wonder what their reasoning was for their verdict. SOMETHING swayed them.

Probably the societal misconception that its acceptable, and by now common place, for cops to beat the **** out of people under the name of duty and in the best interest of public safety.

 

[Bunnykid68]

Probably the societal misconception that its acceptable, and by now common place, for cops to beat the **** out of people under the name of duty and in the best interest of public safety.

Coming from that state I can believe that.

 

[rambone]

So why did the jury acquit? The same reason they vote for the people they do. The same reason they'll sign petitions to create martial law. They barely have 2 brain cells to rub together. And when they do, they use them to worship their government gods.

They love the taste of boot polish.

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[rambone]

If it were anyone other than cops in this trial would the sentiment be the same?

Aside from a few blogs and local newspapers, the silence is DEAFENING regarding this case.

So YES... if it were anybody but cops, the sentiment might be different. They might actually hear about it. And they might actually care.

Compare the coverage of this to months of 24/7 coverage of Martin vs. Zimmerman. That was nationally insignificant, politically irrelevant, and the death was not sanctioned by the state... and yet we couldn't get away from it for over a year. When a gang of tax-subsidized killers gets away with murder, 99% of the country never hears a peep about it. And a lot of the ones who do hear about it shrug it off as just a dirty bum who had it coming. USA!! USA!! USA!!

 

[steveh_131]

I admire his father's restraint. I can't imagine watching a video of my son being beat to death while he calls for me. I can't imagine what my reaction would be.

I fully expected a guilty verdict on this one. Maybe I have too much faith in humanity, but this entire episode is recorded on video and there were witnesses all around. Despite my usual cynicism on these matters, I am truly shocked.