Kelly Thomas photos - before and after police beating - graphic image warning.

[Swede]

Monsters.




?w=640

[quinnox]

1. damn!

I shouldn't have looked, that is very rough stuff. Excuse me while I try to purge my brain. Poor guy.

[arcane1]

2. Who is this and why did they beat him?

[uppityperson]

5. Homeless man who cops beat to death for being "uncooperative". I posted vid upthread. Here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Kelly_Thomas

On July 5, 2011, at about 8:30 PM, officers of the Fullerton Police Department responded to a call of someone vandalizing cars near the Fullerton Transportation Center. While investigating, they encountered the shirtless and disheveled Thomas and attempted to search him. According to statements given by the officers, Thomas was uncooperative and resisted when they attempted to search him, so backup was called. The officers then repeatedly shocked Thomas with Tasers, beat him with the butts of the Tasers and flashlights, and slammed him into the ground.[10] A video of the event surfaced, and Thomas can be heard repeatedly screaming in pain while officers tasered him (up to five times according to a witness statement) in the video, and screaming "Dad! Dad!".[11] Six officers were involved in subduing Thomas, who was unarmed and had a history of mental illness. Thomas was initially taken to St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton but was transferred immediately to the UC Irvine Medical Center with severe injuries to his head, face, and neck.[12]

Orange County district attorney Tony Rackauckas gave a detailed account of the events during a press conference on September 21, 2011. Using digital audio recording devices carried by the officers, surveillance video from a pole camera at the Fullerton Transportation Center, and other evidence, Rackauckas provided evidence that Thomas did comply with orders from Officer Ramos, who had put on latex gloves and asked Thomas "Now see my fists? They are getting ready to fuck you up."[13] Rackauckas went on to describe how Thomas begged for his life, before being beaten to death.[14]

[Ruby the Liberal]

16. OMG - that is horrifying!

[uppityperson]

3. Has this 30+ min security tape video been posted yet? damn

[Quantess]

4. This is horrible to see.

Is there some background information to the story?

[uppityperson]

6. It's only a wiki link, but many links in it....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Kelly_Thomas

[Quantess]

7. Thank you. That is so so sad.

It appears he was mentally ill and homeless.

[uppityperson]

8. And couldn't comply with cops. I watched the middle of the vid, where he was sitting down and they

told him to stick his legs out straight and put his elbows on his knees. Then it deteriorated really fast. For 20 min.

[Quantess]

38. He was trying to comply, but he had a hard time following the cop's instructions

and that one cop was already eager to beat him up. He said "see these fists? They're about to fuck you up" as he was sitting there on the ground, trying to follow instructions.

[uppityperson]

39. That is what I mean, he was trying but couldn't do what the cop was telling him to do. He was trying

and they were just looking for an excuse.

[Quantess]

40. The video was upsetting.

Sometimes I see or read about some act of cruelty that haunts me afterward. This is one of those cases. It's terrible. These cops are mean spirited thugs.

[one_voice]

9. Holy fuck me jeebus...

that's horrible.

going to jail is too good for those animals.

[Ruby the Liberal]

17. Yeah but will they get even that?

Holy shit.

[lpbk2713]

10. Holy shit! Such barbarity.

It wasn't even that bad in Abu Ghraib.

Some assholes really need to do a lot of hard time over this.

[AzDar]

11. I think that cops who break the law in the line of duty should receive much harsher

penalties/sentences than the average citizen would for the same offense. Appalling breaches of the public trust should be costly for them...

[Logical]

12. I 100% agree. But most the time they get off! n-t

[MrModerate]

29. There are already laws on the books in most places in the US . . .

regarding crimes committed "under the cover of authority."

So, no harsher sentences required, just honest prosecution of the *multiple* crimes such berserkers commit.

[malaise]

13. WTF???

And those cops are still on the job?

[Baitball Blogger]

14. What's the story on the cops?

[M0rpheus]

18. Currently on trial

Kelly Thomas: Medics, not cops, to blame for death, defense says
May 8, 2012 | 11:04 am

The lawyer for one of the Fullerton policemen charged in the beating of a mentally ill homeless man suggested Tuesday that it was medical professionals –- not police officers -– who are to blame for the death of Kelly Thomas.


http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/05/kelly-thomas-medics-not-cops-to-blame-for-death-defense-says-.html

[Ruby the Liberal]

21. So they beat the ever living shit out of him and then

blame the medical folks because they weren't able to put him back together again?

I am sure that is playing REAL well locally.

[M0rpheus]

22. That's about the size of it.

"Dr. Michael Lekawa acknowledged under questioning from Barnett that paramedics had informed him that doctors at St. Jude hospital had struggled to insert a breathing tube in Thomas following the July 5 incident. Lekawa said that if a breathing tube is not inserted quickly it can lead to a low oxygen level in the blood, and eventually death."

The argument I would hope the prosecution makes: "He would not have needed a breathing tube if they hadn't beaten the crap out of him".

Reminds me why I stay in the house most of the time.

[Ruby the Liberal]

26. Its like being on the other side of the looking glass.

Glad I know about this now though. I will make a note to follow the proceedings.

[Baitball Blogger]

24. So they're blaming the doctor for not realizing how brutal cops can be?

[magical thyme]

30. no. they're blaming the medics for not being able to insert a breathing tube fast enough through

a totally bashed in and swollen face. unfuckingbelievable.

[Baitball Blogger]

32. I see.

[M0rpheus]

33. They're framing their defense to elicit "reasonable doubt"

Even if it was the case that the ultimate cause of his death was bad medical treatment, his dying was still a result of the beating he received.

Common sense would say: he would not be in a position for Dr's to treat him (badly or otherwise) had they not beat the hell out of him.

It'll be interesting to see the contortions they'll go through to get them out of this, scott free... I have no faith that there will be any justice here.

[Baitball Blogger]

34. Cops can literally get away with murder.

[DURHAM D]

37. I blame the cops. Who do you blame?

[pinboy3niner]

19. Today was the 2nd day of prelim hearing to see if they go to trial for murder/manslaughter

Ramos is facing one felony count of second degree murder and one felony count of involuntary manslaughter. Cicinelli faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and use of excessive force.

A judge could rule as soon as Tuesday afternoon whether the case will go to trial.

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/05/08/preliminary-hearing-in-kelly-thomas-death-case-to-continue-tuesday/

[Baitball Blogger]

25. How soon after the beating were the cops arrested?

[pinboy3niner]

28. Prosecutors filed charges Sept. 21 after an 11-week investigation

Kelly Thomas was beaten July 5 and died five days later.

[DURHAM D]

36. Given that you are a Zimmerman defender we know that you like cops.

Why don't you write the script.

[tularetom]

15. I've never seen anyone literally beaten to a pulp

But that comes as close as anything I could imagine.

But remember 99.99999% of all police officers are good honorable people who would NEVER even think of doing anything like that.

These assholes are the exception.

And so were the ones who beat the crap out of Rodney King.

And the ones in New York City who shot and killed Sean Bell.

And the other ones in New York who brutalized and assaulted Abner Louima.

And the one in Oakland who shot and killed Oscar Grant.

Etc. etc. etc.

[Bake]

20. I'm sure it was just a few "bad apples."

If the so-called "good cops" can't get rid of the sadistic pigs who did -- and still do -- crap like this, then they are no better than the monsters. Something is badly rotten -- to the core -- in police departments all over the country when shit like this happens time after time after time.

Bake

[MattBaggins]

23. So what are the laws pertaining to Police Officers administering first aid?

When they sat oh his back and caused him to asphyxiate, were they required to begin some form of FA or was just standing around laughing at a dying man protocol?

[Uncle Joe]

27. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Swede.

[Rex]

31. Why?

.

[emilyg]

35. Jesus H - if these

cops don't see the inside of a jail for a long time - there is no justice. Who can we email?

[rustydog]

41. Horriffic, sad, tragic, CRIMINAL

Those officers need to be tried, found guilty and imprisoned for murder.
They brutally murdered an innocent man who was probably guilty of contempt of cop...
My heart aches fot Thomas' family.

[sabrina 1]

42. It's getting to the point where the American people need protection from their own

police departments. If we cannot straighten out this growing problem, someone from the outside will have to do it.

This is truly barbaric. Anyone who could participate in something like this is a monster.

And a coward, and a should never be allowed anywhere near civilized human beings, let alone be hired to 'protect and serve'.

There is something wrong with the recruitment policies of our police departments. Someone who could engage in this cowardly brutality didn't just suddenly get that way.

Imagine if this photo and this story was from somewhere else, like South America, the outrage would be heard around the world. We have no moral authority anymore. Not until we bring home all of our troops from around the world, stop killing people, and start fixing all that has gone wrong in this country.

RIP Mr. Thomas, this world was not a good place for you.