Posted on 08/07/2011 1:19:38 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Hundreds joined Ron Thomas at a rally Saturday at Fullerton Police Department wanted to see the police chief step down.
At a rally in front of the Fullerton Police Department Saturday calling for the police chief’s resignation, the father of the 37-year-old schizophrenic man who was beaten by police and died said he wanted to see stiff penalties for those involved.
“What I want to see done is the primary guy that was beating my son in the back of the head with a Taser, because this was indeed a hate crime against the homeless and mentally ill, needs to be convicted of a brutal murder with special circumstances,” said Ron Thomas. “I want him to get the death penalty and I’ll pull the switch.”
More than 500 people joined Thomas at the rally many shouting “Justice for Kelly! Jail Killer Cops!” in response to the beating and death of a Kelly Thomas who allegedly fought with officers July 5.
Andy Anderson, a Fullerton resident who helped organize the protest, said they wanted to see the policemen involved lose their jobs.
“The main goal is to get Chief Sellers to step down,” he said. “We are going to show him through unity and all the people here that we don’t want him here anymore. The ultimate goal is prosecution for the 6 officers involved.”
Anderson said Kelly was a fixture in the community and that the beating more evidence of what he described as an overly aggressive police force.
“We are trying to keep his mental illness really out of it,” said Anderson about Kelly’s medical condition. “What it comes down to is, he was a schizophrenic yeah, he was a homeless guy, but six police officers beat him to death and that is really the story here and I think sometimes the mental illness thing is putting a shroud over what actually happened.”
He said in addition to the chief stepping down he wants to see the desk officer who watched the video during the beating lose his job and the six officers lose their jobs, pension and serve jail time, “just like any other citizen would.”
A Fullerton police lieutenant, who refused to give his name, said there have been no arrests and that crowd has not been unruly. He also said there has been no special police deployment for the protest.
“It's just our regular number of officers that are serving the city today,” he said. “Nothing's going on. That's all I have to say. We're (the police department) not making any statements about this (protest).”
Members of the coalition of Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, or ANSWER, and mental health advocates joined the parents of Kelly Thomas in the demonstration.
Six officers believed to be involved in Thomas' arrest were publicly identified by a blogger, and that reportedly caused the wife and children of one of the officers to move to a hotel after the family received a death threat.
Kelly Thomas was allegedly suspected of trying to break into cars at the Fullerton transit center. He was in a coma and died in a hospital five days after the arrest. His father, a former sheriff's deputy, made public an image of his bloodied and bruised son in a hospital bed, with at least one black eye, a big cut on his forehead and what appeared to be broken nose.
Surveillance video shows part of the arrest, but authorities say they will not make it public. The FBI is monitoring the investigation and will hand up its findings to the Justice Department.
A candlelight vigil is planned for Saturday night at 8 p.m. at Fullerton City Hall.
If I told you the FPD kept all of the officers on street patrol for three full weeks after the incident, and only put them on paid non-patrol administrative leave (reports that they have been suspended are incorrect) AFTER this became a major story on local talkradio and Internet blogs, would you find that fact of interest?
Sorry man simply not true.....I have had numerous encounters with the police over my 64 years and have been treated professionaly and courteously every time....I still didn’t like getting the ticket. To make the statement that 50% of the police are bad is simply false.
Maybe...if I knew all the facts...but I don’t and neither do you!!!
There is NO excuse for delivering a beating to a person who has submitted, and beating (or not stopping the beating) carries the risk of consequences that flow from that wrongful conduct.
Just like a drunk driver does not intend to kill, but can still be found guilty of manslaughter - these cops knew that what they were doing was wrong. The result was a death.
The wheels of justice best get moving.
It’s on camera...if they are wrong it will come out.
I agree. My remark was directed to a different assertion, to wit, that "We know he was beaten to death and six cops were present at the time."
I jumped to a conclusion that you meant "present at the death," when you meant "present at the beating."
I have no quarrel with rank and file being told to refrain from making any public comment. And that is fine, if justice moves in a way that renders the result credible to the public. But if weeks go by and the police force circles the wagons, then the police force is reasonably viewed as corrupt.
No problem. I could have been clearer.
And do you think it was likely those facts would have gotten out without the scrutiny and public pressure that has come about in this case?
Agree on both points.
It's near impossible to find good airline customer service in Washington, DC or Philadelphia; but same airline, different city, and the help is actually helpful.
I've tended to live in rural communities, and the percentage of rotten cops is pretty low.
I do agree with your finding that where the good ones tolerate the bad ones (that is, don't act to force the bad ones out), it taints the entire force.
I'll take a wait and see with Fullerton. Right now, the city has the ball.
No I’m simply stating that most police officers are good and there are a few bad apples and the make a statement that half are bad is simply foolish and adds nothing to your argument. Maybe they are more agressive but do you really think the criminals today are not worse than a decade ago?
I guess if the police are corupt then no and if they are honest yes. I’m well aware there are corrupt police forces ala Chicago but most are not. If there were not some pretty nasty people in the world then the police would not need to be so agressive...just saying!!!
I saw the photo of Kelly’s dead body and at first glance what I saw was not recognizable as a human being. I’m surprised the gangbangers in blue can stick their head out of doors.
Oh, I forgot. This is America.
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