Saturday: Protest At The Police Station
FFFF Friend Andy Anderson has organized a second protest that’s scheduled for tomorrow morning at 9:00 am to 1:00 pm on the corner of Highland and Commonwealth in Fullerton.
If you can, bring a poster board and make a sign on site. This is your opportunity to send your own personal message to the FPD letting them know what you think of the brutal killing of a local homeless man named Kelly Thomas.
There is a Facebook page to help organize the event.
I’ve read elsewhere on this blog that Kelly Thomas suffered from schizophrenia, which is a TERRIBLE mental illness of unknown cause which effects mostly men with onset in late teens on through to young adulthood.
Homelessness is a sad situation with numerous causes but when an individual suffers from a severe mental illness, I think it is important to point out that fact, every time, rather than just lumping him into the undifferentiated “homeless” bin.
This mentally ill young man was (from accounts posted elsewhere on this blog) well known and basically non-problematic (to local shopkeepers, et al), and he was somewhat of a local “fixture”. I do not recall ever having seen him.
These facts make the sustained brutal lethal beating-murder perpetrated by SIX local Fullerton City Policemen, entirely indefensible.
ALL six of the Policemen involved should already be in custody – in jail – pending murder charges and trial.
They are obviously dangerous, mean and nasty angry bully type guys (thugs with guns), whose JOB it was to know their neighborhood, including all the locals and to have a good assessment of the various “characters” who regularly frequent the public places in the city they patrol.
There is no excuse for the long slow secretive process of “investigating” this CRIME tragedy.
A smart move to hold the protest on Saturday morning. There are going to be a ton of folks down in that area for the Grand Opening of the new library. This will be good exposure.
I am baffled and confused by the whole proceedings here. If I was the Chief of Police, I would have made a statement a long time ago about this. At least communicate with the public what is going on in this investigation. And I don’t care if he is on vacation. Do a teleconference or something. This is not right. Somebody suggested that Joe Felz make the statements. That is not the City Manager’s job.
This is the responsibility of the Chief of Police and he needs to make the statements. The longer this goes on…and it is reaching the three week mark…it appears like there is a cover up. And nobody is talking about the potential financial impact on the city. How many people are going to stay away from the city now that there is a chance if you look at the Police the wrong way, you could get pulverised.
What is there to investigate again? It’s pretty cut and dry. Why would it take six officers to subdue one 165 pound guy and beat him beyond recognition and killing him? We need answers and we need them soon.
here is a video of kelly Thomas being beat
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fullertonsfuture.org%2F2011%2Fwarning-graphic-photo-of-fpd-beating-victim%2F&h=cAQB0k8nS
I applaud your energy in participating in this demonstration, but I encourage you to use that energy in ways that are more likely to effect positive change. I don’t believe that public demonstrations are particularly useful at this stage.
Confrontations with the police are not likely to be productive, as they appear to have gone into the “thin blue line” “us vs. them” mentality. Nothing will get achieved this way at this point, except people getting pissed off and possibly more violence.
What would be VERY useful would be to get 100-200 people showing up at the next city council meeting (Tuesday, August 2, at 6:30 pm, I believe) with a specific agenda.
Meetings should be held ahead of the council meeting to determine the agenda. Get added to the council’s agenda so they can’t blow you off.
In the meantime, get flyers EVERYWHERE. Set up card tables in public places (grocery stores, post offices, etc.) and take a couple hours to let people know what is happening. It is CRUCIAL to get as many people as possible to that council meeting.
That city council meeting is the absolute make-or-break. If we can get the council’s attention and willingness to make change, this thing can be turned around. Otherwise, the cops will know they do not have to answer to or respect the citizenry. And, obviously, given the choice, they will not. Fullerton has to act to rein them in NOW.
As to an agenda, my own thoughts are that Chief Sellers and Sgt. Goodrich must be fired immediately. This happened on their watch, and they are choosing to protect their department over their city/community. This is unacceptable.
I’ve read that some supervisor was sitting back at the station watching the whole thing unfold on video. If true, that person’s actions should be scrutinized. If there was a failure of leadership or supervision on their part then appropriate disciplinary action should be taken.
The six officers who participated in the killing should (at least) be taken off the street immediately, if they haven’t been already, pending a very fast homicide investigation. If you or I had participated in such a killing, we would be in jail while the investigation was going on. They should at least be suspended or given desk assignments, but they should not be permitted to interact with the public. And, if a finding of homicide is made by the DA, then arrests should be swift.
If the city council is not responsive to the citizens, then THAT is the time to go to street demonstrations, followed up by recall elections, etc. But the council should be given the opportunity to act first.
There are about 30 still out there, as of 12:30. Channel 7 showed up–credit to them. A lot of city bigwigs at the nearby library opening–one sign-carrier was there, too.
Any official word from the Mayor? Chief? Where’s the Collaborative? Human Relations Commission?
I honestly couldn’t see anything in the video an could only hear a couple people’s opinions. People not trained in police procedure and not there close enough or long enough to possess all the facts. None of us have any idea what the cops encountered when they rolled up on this guy. I’ve seen plenty of crazy bums down there doing loony stuff and wished the cops had been there. Of course, the comments on this site are going to be slanted one way and of course the cops statements will be slanted another. We will all have to wait and see what the court says. As for arresting the cops or the chief stepping down. This is the US and I didn’t see them being convicted yet. Did you?
Oh I see. He said, she said?
Only one man was bludgeoned to death, get it? Does he get a vote? No? That’s convenient.
And you were there and have all the facts? Explain how you’re qualified to pass judgement on anyone when you are not in possession of ALL the facts.
I am sickened by this. I cry when I hear him screaming for his Dad. I am crushed when I hear his Dad asking why? My brother is homeless. The police come to the park he lives at and take his things when he is away. These are mentally ill people just trying to survive. We need to have places for these lost people to find refuge and heal. Instead we feed the pension beasts, steal from them and beat them to death.
To JOC–
What was Kelly convicted of?
Nothing. Yet. He may or may not have been had he survived. That’s what the cops are for, whether you like it or not. I don’t know what he did, but I do know I follow the laws and do what cops tell me, on the rare occasion I interact with them, and never have a problem.
Oh how swell for you.
Cops are for arresting suspects and taking them (alive) into custody, not acting as an execution squad. Unles of course you come from third world country where things like juries and judges and fair trials don’t exist.
Let’s just hop Fullerton FPD never rough you up for no reason. Of course I suspect you are Fullerton PD.
Hey, glass house dweller. I am as far from a cop as can be. I have dealt with FPD many times and I’m still here. I’d like to know where you get “cops are for our arresting suspects and taking them (alive) into custody”. Can you provide some documentation to that effect? Your uninformed knee jerk doesn’t make any of your position true. Even if it turns out that these were bad cops, that doesn’t mean all of FPD is. Your subscription to those kinds of generalities speaks to your lack of credibility, if that is even necessary.
Now go back and cry to your mommy and daddy about how unfair this cruel world is and don’t open your mouth again till you out of junior high, child!
I don’t know if all of the cops at FPD are bad, but a whole lot of them have been coming out of the woodwork lately.
If there are good cops, they seem to have a minimal impact on the department.
“I’d like to know where you get “cops are for our arresting suspects and taking them (alive) into custody”. Can you provide some documentation to that effect?”
Yes, the US Constitution. Notably the First, Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.
And you are a goddamned ignoramus.
Sad sad sad calling someone ignorant! That is funny. Go back to jerking your knee and your boyfriend.
Thank you Johnny, for pointing out the obvious, however you and I both know that there absolutely are good people at FPD. When was the last time any of us heard about bad cops gone wild in Fullerton? C’mon, look at their history. I’ve lived in this city almost my whole life, and have come to know many of our Officers, none of whom have ever made the news for garbage like this. It seems to me that this is not only generational, but has a lot to do with the fact that the new “what’s in it for me” generation has ahold of the nads of those who not only hired them, but trained them and supervise them. Think about it, with all of the generational “protection laws” that have spiked up in the last decade, these new kids on the block are protected from everything imaginable. You can’t LOOK at them sideways without them being “offended” in some way, you can’t yell at them because that would hurt their feelings, and you certainly can’t discipline them if they are a “protected class”, and that means anyone who is tan, brown, black, female, homosexual, short, tall, has an accent, obese, religious…I mean the list goes on and on!! Believe me, I have no sympathy for any of these rogue cops who will eventually lose their jobs, but look at how they were created!! They have grown up as a generation of thin skinned cowards who have been raised to believe that the world owes them! This is a mess that our government has created by making it impossible for employers to hire who THEY want, and fire them if they can’t cut the mud!! These Cops aren’t protected by their Unions, they are protected by the American Government for crying out loud!
There are good cops in Fullerton, who will likely remain good, however you are right, they have minimal impact…you have to ask yourself WHY THAT IS!!!???
I knew sad mad at dad would show her colors! You grow you heterosexually challenger girl!
Hey JOC – a homeless man with a severe mental was beaten to death by 6 cops. Do you get that. That fact is indisputable. It doesnt cause you any emotional concern because oh well you have never had that kind of run in with them. No no. So if you havn’t had that proble, ergo he must have done “something” to merit it.
But he is dead. Beaten to death. Do you understand that? He is dead. You can see a pic of his face after they were done with him. So he is dead. If you think that this is in any way justifiable which you seem to be suggesting is a possibility then you are not worth the effort of a discussion.
Do NOT turn this into a “all cops are bad” line. NO ONE is saying that. But these 6 twsited bastards beata man to death. This is still America. You cannot do that. Ever hear of “reasonable force”?
Tell you what. Let’s see this go to court. Lots of evidence to be presented. FBI doing what the local officials wont do and then you can get to be the big shot when they are all acquitted because Kelly was doing such a great job resisting arrest and they had “no choice” other than to beat him to death just as they were trained.
That is your argument. Yep, police officers can beat you to death if you resist arrest. And by the way all the evidence says he was not and more specifically could not resist arrest. There were 6 of them and he was 135 pounds.
I will pray for you – You need prayers.
The GED FPD returns.
Welcome back!
Hey you stole my line! That’s okay, use it freely. It’s true!
DA Asks Witnesses to Come Forward in Kelly Thomas Case
July 27, 2011The Orange County District Attorneys office has just released a Request for Public Assistance in finding witnesses to the arrest of Kelly Thomas at the Fullerton Transportation Center July 5, 2011.
Anyone with information or who believes they may be a witness are asked to call District Attorney Investigator Stan Berry at 714-347-8813.
I’ve written and recorded a song in response to the brutal beating that eventually led to the death of Kelly Thomas. I hope it’ll help spread the word about this heinous act.
http://soundcloud.com/bnf-1/bnf-6-lil-piggies-justice