Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas spoke publicly for the first time today about the death of Kelly Thomas who was beaten and tased by six Fullerton Police officers. Dave Lopez reports:
Republic of Costa Mesa | The law firm of Silver, Hadden, Silver, Wexler & Levine had a busy July, simultaneously representing the Orange County Employees Association in their pension war on Costa Mesa while (up the 55 and 91 freeways) defending cops in the fatal beating of Fullerton resident Kelly Thomas. [CONTINUE READING]
Los Angeles Times | Surveillance tape shot from the Fullerton bus depot shows parts of the police altercation, but key elements are obscured, according to a law enforcement source who reviewed it. The source, who spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity because the case is ongoing, said the tape shows six officers struggling with Kelly Thomas, a 37-year-old man who suffered from schizophrenia. The source said obstacles obscured the “quality and angle” of the shot. [CONTINUE READING]
A blogger at FullertonsFuture.org is questioning who the Fullerton police department’s official spokesman is really working for:
So who does [Andrew] Goodrich really work for? Fullerton taxpayers pay his salary, but it is crystal clear that he he is working for his brethren in the FPOA and will do anything he can to obfuscate, obscure, misdirect and mislead you – the very people who pay his lavish $130,000 a year salary plus benefits.
This becomes even more troublesome when you consider that he is one of the leaders of the union that has hired a lawyer to defend the six cops that participated in the Thomas beat down.
Who in God’s name permits a union officer to be the official spokesman for a city department?
Los Angeles Times | When the phone rang at 3:30 a.m., Ron Thomas knew it had to be bad news.
“Kelly’s been beaten up,” his daughter, Christina, tearfully told him. “It looks like he’s going to die.”
By Steve Lopez
Ron Thomas, a former Orange County sheriff’s deputy, had been expecting such a call for years. He had learned some painful lessons as the parent of someone with a serious mental illness. He knew his son’s schizophrenia could be controlled at times but that it wasn’t going to go away, ever. And he knew that no amount of love for Kelly could save him.
When Ron Thomas got to St. Jude Hospital in Fullerton that morning in early July, he was stunned by his son’s appearance. His face and head were horribly disfigured from a beating.
“I was speechless.”
Thomas wanted desperately for the Fullerton police to round up whoever had done this to Kelly. [CONTINUE READING]
Orange County Register | 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. [CONTINUE READING]
Kelly Thomas' mother Cathy Thomas, center, of Placentia, listens to singer Julian Porte, right, of Whittier, perform "The Ballad of Kelly Thomas." Porte wrote the song in remembrance of Kelly Thomas and performed it at a rally in front of the Fullerton Police Department on Saturday. (Photo by Ana Venegas, Orange County Register)
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. [CONTINUE READING]
LIVE INTERVIEW | Fullerton Councilman Bruce Whitaker has called for Chief of Police Michael Seller’s resignation. He is the second council member to do so. Whitaker said the chief has failed to do his job in many ways. To see Whitaker interviewed live by KNBC’s Chuck Henry, click here.
City Councilman Bruce Whitaker is the second councilmember to call for the police chief to resign following the death of Kelly Thomas. Here he is interviewed by KNBC’s Vicki Vargas:
Los Angeles Times | A second Fullerton City Council member is asking the police chief to resign after a mentally ill homeless man was beaten to death during a confrontation with six officers. Council member Sharon Quirk-Silva called for Chief Michael Sellers’ resignation Wednesday, criticizing the Police Department for refusing to answer questions about the case or share information with the council. A second council member, Bruce Whitaker, told KTLA on Thursday that he also thinks the chief should resign. [CONTINUE READING]
Los Angeles Times | The public is angrily questioning how the act of subduing a homeless man, who was something of a fixture in Fullerton, could have required six police officers and enough force that the man died. It’s a good question; it’s also a commendable turn of events when a community rises up on behalf of one of its least powerful members. [CONTINUE READING]
