Posted on 09/21/2011 4:17:41 PM PDT by Mount Athos
Prosecutors charged one police officer with murder and another with manslaughter Wednesday in the killing of an unarmed, mentally ill homeless man who was pummeled, shocked with a Taser and slammed with the butt of a stun gun in a beating that lasted nearly 10 minutes.
Evidence, including audio from the officers' body microphones and surveillance video, showed Thomas was acting "in self-defense, in pain and in a state of panic," Rackauckas said.
"His numerous pleas of 'I'm sorry,' 'I can't breathe,' 'Help Dad' (were) all to no avail. Screams, loud screams, didn't help,"
"He lifted his fists in front of Kelly Thomas so he could see them and he said, 'Now see my fists? They are getting ready to (expletive) you up,'"
The prosecutor said Ramos then chased Thomas, eventually punching him in his ribs and tackling him before holding down his neck and laying on top of Thomas to pin him down.
The coroner listed the cause of death as mechanical compression of the thorax, which made it impossible for Thomas to breathe normally and deprived his brain of oxygen, Rackauckas said. Other injuries to the face and head contributed to the death, the prosecutor said.
Cicinelli, who arrived on the scene later, kneed Thomas twice in the head and used a Taser four times on him as he screamed and yelled in pain, Rackauckas said, adding that Cicinelli hit Thomas in the face eight times with the Taser, and Thomas didn't respond.
"When Kelly didn't scream in response to these blows it should have indicated to Cicinelli that Kelly was down and seriously hurt," he said.
Rackauckas, a longtime prosecutor known for his strong backing of law enforcement, said it was the first time he had filed charges against police officers for excessive force leading to death.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
“said it was the first time he had filed charges against police officers for excessive force leading to death.”
Which is probably why they thought they could get away with it.
Good.
Although if IIRC, there were six cops involved in the beating.
This is one that haunts me, that poor man screaming and crying out for his father to help him.
Police state torture of the innocent and helpless. As despicable as partial birth abortion.
Here’s some captured testimony from several eyewitnesses taken immediately after the act on a public bus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYJi3lgXLBU
I guess the only way to get rid of these dirtbag cops is to convict and incarcerate them. Anything less and they’ll just be back on the street.
It still a long way away from a conviction....
This trial is one to watch.....
Apparently, there were 6 cops at the scene.
Being a cop can be a tough, demanding job. However, based on the prosecutor’s charges, it appears four of the cops stood by and took no action while two cops performed acts in their presence that resulted in murder and manslaughter charges.
Lets assume the two are found guilty. Police practices in the future almost certainly would be different if those four were to also pay a price for their inaction.
Not this time. These two deserve all that is coming to them and likely more then they will actually get.
The four who watched and did nothing deserve to be punished as well.
GUILTY!!
Yes, you're correct.
I'm wondering why all six weren't charged equally under accomplice liability laws.
Or, is this yet another instance where some of the animals in the barnyard are more equal than others? </rhetorical>
good
Does my heart good to see them in prison garb. Hopefully they’ll get convicted and learn some “special” relationships in prison. I’ll bet when the inmates learn they’re ex-cops that’ll grant a unique cachet to their experiences.
The reason that even two of them are charged is because of the media focus on this. Too many people have seen it and complained. Who knew that youtube just might be useful for something other than porn? As long as the media stays on this and people complain one can bet they will be found guilty.
Hit the guy 8 times in the face with a Tazer? You have got to be kidding. That is Torture clear and simple. I would go for first degree on both, death for the torturer.
I’m damn sick of Freepers relishing the thought of some criminal being raped in prison.
We in the USA are better than Pakistanis inflicting rape as a punishment.
And, permitting rape in the prisons is a laxity that allows the worst predators to have a power and a pleasure that they ought to lose as prisoners.
These two look brutal and thuggish enough that they are more likely to be rapers than rapees.
bet those doughnut eaters find out the aren't as tough as they think the are in prison
Doughnut eaters? How clever.
...Awwwww, no smile???
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