Story first appeared The Los Angeles Times.
On the ground and screaming that he was sorry, a shirtless man is shown being hit again and again with fists, a baton and finally the butt of a stun gun by Fullerton police officers in a dramatic video that was shown for the first time Monday in an Orange County courtroom.
The grainy black and white video of the violent encounter with police outside a bus depot is the centerpiece of the prosecutions' case against two officers accused of escalating a standard police encounter with a homeless man into a fatal beating.
At one point, the victim— a 37-year-old mentally ill homeless man who was a familiar face in the city's downtown — screams out for his father.
The video and the sound of fists and a baton striking Thomas were so graphic that several spectators left the courtroom and the judge paused the video at one point after some people in the audience began to groan. He cautioned that those who couldn't stomach the video should leave.
The case has rocked the north Orange County city, where scores of people have protested, staged memorials and even held a recent public birthday celebration for Thomas. During a press conference in announcing the charges, the Orange County Dist. Atty was brought to tears while discussing the case.
Two Fullerton police officers are charged in the death. Both have pleaded not guilty.
One is charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, a potential life sentence. While the other, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and excessive force in connection with the July 5 beating, a sentence of four years in prison.
The video, shot by a security camera at the bus depot, initially captures the homeless man being detained by Fullerton officers. He is uncooperative and the office appears to grow angry.
The aggressive officer threatened to hit the homeless man, while sliding on a pair of latex gloves. The statements and the menacing act of putting on the gloves set the deadly encounter into motion.
the victim can be heard repeatedly saying that he was sorry as the officers strike him, instructing him to put his hands behind his back.
One of the two officers can be seen kneeing the victim at least once, though some of the activity is obscured by a tree. The homeless man repeatedly stated that he was having trouble breathing.
When another officer arrives and tells the victim to stop resisting, the audio captures the sound of a Taser stun gun clicking rapidly as the homeless man growls in pain, his legs seeming to twitch. At one point, it appears that the newcomer raises his arm and smacks the victim in the face or head with the butt of the Taser.
The officers maintain that the homeless man was out of control and it took three officers to control him.
By the time the confrontation ends, the victim is lying in a pool of blood. Officers then examine their own wounds as they stand near him, who is handcuffed and on the ground. One officer claims that the homeless man bit him on the leg.
The victim suffered brain injuries, a shattered nose, a smashed cheekbone, broken ribs and internal bleeding, according to authorities. But he died of "mechanical compression of the thorax" — his windpipe was crushed.
But attorneys for the two officers sought to portray his medical treatment as the reason for Thomas' death rather than the officers' actions.
The defense attorney asked the fire captain and a trauma surgical chief about whether the initial doctors at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton struggled to insert a tube and clear an airway for him. The defense asked the surgical trauma chief if the death could have been caused by medical malpractice, seeking to persuade a judge to dismiss a murder and manslaughter charge against his client.
The chief trauma surgeon acknowledged that he was concerned about medical error until he saw the medical reports and video of the incident.
For more law related news, visit the Nation
of Law blog.
For national and worldwide related business news, visit the Peak News Room blog.
For local and Michigan business related news, visit the Michigan Business News blog.
For healthcare and medical related news, visit the Healthcare and Medical
blog.
For real estate and home related news, visit the Commercial and
Residential Real Estate blog.
For technology and electronics related news, visit the Electronics America blog.
For organic SEO and web optimization related news, visit the SEO Done Right blog.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment