Officers caught on video beating California homeless man to death acquitted of all charges
An Orange County jury returned a unanimous not-guilty verdict Tuesday in favor of two former Fullerton, California police officers, Manuel Ramos and Jay Cicinelli, who had been charged with murder and manslaughter arising from the July 5, 2011 death of Kelly Thomas, a hapless 37-year-old schizophrenic living on the streets of the Southern California suburb, located near Disneyland. After deliberating less than a full day, the eight female and four male jurors exonerated both defendants despite repeated viewings of the graphic video, which shows multiple punches, kicks, chest compressions and tasings over a nine-minute period. Paramedics resuscitated Thomas and rushed him to the hospital, where he arrived comatose. He survived for five days, until his condition became hopeless and life support measures were terminated. The medical examiner determined that Thomas’s death was caused when four to six police officers piled onto his chest. That, along with profuse bleeding from his nose and face, cut off oxygen to his brain. The stomach churning 33-minute surveillance video is available in various formats on the Los Angeles Times website and YouTube. It speaks for itself.
William N. Grigg: Getting Beat to Death by Police Thugs
LA Times: Video proves police beating killed Kelly Thomas, coroner says
PressTV: US cops acquitted in beating death case
Daily Mail: Caught on tape: Police beat and taser 'gentle' mentally-ill homeless man to death
Huffington Post: Fullerton Homeless Man's Beating Revealed At Pre-Trial Hearing [05/08/2012]