Kelly Thomas trial: Officers acquitted in homeless man's death

S.J.

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Nov 28, 2012
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These are the cops that beat him.

manuel-ramos-jay-cicinelli-fullerton-police-kelly-thomas.jpg


This was the guy they beat.

Kelly-Thomas-Police-Beating.jpg


Kelly Thomas trial: Officers acquitted in homeless man's death | Fox News

Both cops were found not guilty. Justice? What do you think?
 
The thing is, mentally ill people should not be wandering around homeless. We need to go back to the days of institutions. It wasn't the concept of institutions that was bad, it was the way they were run, the way they were managed, the amount of money involved in maintaining them, the training of the staff, etc. Mental institutions should be places where those who can't cope with society can find safety, care and refuge. Instead they were mistreated, ignored, and/or abused. We need to go back to providing a place for these people other than the streets, but a safe and helpful place.

The public does not want to put many tax dollars into taking care of the mentally ill or the seriously mentally handicapped. But, they don't want them out on the streets. And they get very upset when something like this happens. But, police officers are not trained to deal well with the mentally ill, such as this guy with schizophrenia, and the average cop shouldn't be expected to know how to deal well with them. So when the guy shows no cooperation and acts crazy, they probably assume he is on drugs and is a danger to them. It's a vicious circle really. This man should have been in an institution designed to help him, give him a home, and take care of him; he should not have been allowed to be homeless out on the streets where he is a danger to himself and perhaps others.
 
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This is disgusting. I hope neither of those two ever get a job in law enforcement again. This is one of those instances where I would fully support vigilante justice against those two assholes.
 
What the fuck are you talking about?

I realize you're a piece of shit but do look at the obvious
cops beat to death a white guy they get acquitted
Cops beats a black guy they go to prison.

The cops who beat Rodney King were found not-guilty. Surely you remember that.
Are you sure ?
Rodney King
2 to Be Sentenced Today in Rodney King Beating - NYTimes.com

I guess race played an issue between the two.
 
I realize you're a piece of shit but do look at the obvious
cops beat to death a white guy they get acquitted
Cops beats a black guy they go to prison.

The cops who beat Rodney King were found not-guilty. Surely you remember that.
Are you sure ?
Rodney King
2 to Be Sentenced Today in Rodney King Beating - NYTimes.com

I guess race played an issue between the two.

Positive.
 
positive.

no matter what the new york times says?

Absolutely positive. The Rodney King cops were found not guilty of beating Rodney King...or as the legal terms were "assault with a deadly weapon" and "excessive use of force". They were acquitted.

Maybe you should read the NY Times again.

Yes let's do that

Since their conviction in April for violating Mr. King's civil rights, both Sgt. Stacey C. Koon, who is 42, and Officer Laurence M. Powell, 30, have repeated in strong terms their belief that they acted properly in the violent, videotaped beating that for many Americans has become a symbol of police brutality. They say they are being sacrificed to maintain the city's fragile peace following last year's riots.
 
The thing is, mentally ill people should not be wandering around homeless. We need to go back to the days of institutions. It wasn't the concept of institutions that was bad, it was the way they were run, the way they were managed, the amount of money involved in maintaining them, the training of the staff, etc. Mental institutions should be places where those who can't cope with society can find safety, care and refuge. Instead they were mistreated, ignored, and/or abused. We need to go back to providing a place for these people other than the streets, but a safe and helpful place.

The public does not want to put many tax dollars into taking care of the mentally ill or the seriously mentally handicapped. But, they don't want them out on the streets. And they get very upset when something like this happens. But, police officers are not trained to deal well with the mentally ill, such as this guy with schizophrenia, and the average cop shouldn't be expected to know how to deal well with them. So when the guy shows no cooperation and acts crazy, they probably assume he is on drugs and is a danger to them. It's a vicious circle really. This man should have been in an institution designed to help him, give him a home, and take care of him; he should not have been allowed to be homeless out on the streets where he is a danger to himself and perhaps others.

You are so wrong, on so many levels, it's hard to know where to begin.

Kelly Thomas did have somewhere to go. He had a family that loved him and wanted to take care of him. He just didn't want it. To keep him in an institution, he would have to be locked down, as if he were in prison. It's illegal nowadays to lock people up against their will, which is why we don't have institutions any more. It was never the way they were run. It was locking people up who had never committed a crime.

In THIS case, there was no question that the cops didn't know better and may have thought the schizophrenic was on drugs. They knew Kelly Thomas, quite well. Thomas was a fixture in the neighborhood. They dealt with him every day and had for years.

It would be interesting to find out just what the jury used to make that determination. So far it looks like a cut and dried case of premeditated murder. As soon as Ramos put on those leather gloves, it became murder.
 
This is disgusting. I hope neither of those two ever get a job in law enforcement again. This is one of those instances where I would fully support vigilante justice against those two assholes.
In law enforcement or anywhere else. Who, in their right mind, would hire those two? Look at 'em, they both look like they just escaped from an asylum for the criminally insane.
 
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no matter what the new york times says?

Absolutely positive. The Rodney King cops were found not guilty of beating Rodney King...or as the legal terms were "assault with a deadly weapon" and "excessive use of force". They were acquitted.

Maybe you should read the NY Times again.

Yes let's do that

Since their conviction in April for violating Mr. King's civil rights, both Sgt. Stacey C. Koon, who is 42, and Officer Laurence M. Powell, 30, have repeated in strong terms their belief that they acted properly in the violent, videotaped beating that for many Americans has become a symbol of police brutality. They say they are being sacrificed to maintain the city's fragile peace following last year's riots.
That was a second, federal trial AFTER they were acquitted of excessive use of force by a state court...and that trial convicted them of violating King's civil rights......did NOT convict them of assault and excessive use of force, that would have been double jeopardy.

What do you think CAUSED the riots? Hmmm?
 
The thing is, mentally ill people should not be wandering around homeless. We need to go back to the days of institutions. It wasn't the concept of institutions that was bad, it was the way they were run, the way they were managed, the amount of money involved in maintaining them, the training of the staff, etc. Mental institutions should be places where those who can't cope with society can find safety, care and refuge. Instead they were mistreated, ignored, and/or abused. We need to go back to providing a place for these people other than the streets, but a safe and helpful place.

The public does not want to put many tax dollars into taking care of the mentally ill or the seriously mentally handicapped. But, they don't want them out on the streets. And they get very upset when something like this happens. But, police officers are not trained to deal well with the mentally ill, such as this guy with schizophrenia, and the average cop shouldn't be expected to know how to deal well with them. So when the guy shows no cooperation and acts crazy, they probably assume he is on drugs and is a danger to them. It's a vicious circle really. This man should have been in an institution designed to help him, give him a home, and take care of him; he should not have been allowed to be homeless out on the streets where he is a danger to himself and perhaps others.

You are so wrong, on so many levels, it's hard to know where to begin.

Kelly Thomas did have somewhere to go. He had a family that loved him and wanted to take care of him. He just didn't want it. To keep him in an institution, he would have to be locked down, as if he were in prison. It's illegal nowadays to lock people up against their will, which is why we don't have institutions any more. It was never the way they were run. It was locking people up who had never committed a crime.

In THIS case, there was no question that the cops didn't know better and may have thought the schizophrenic was on drugs. They knew Kelly Thomas, quite well. Thomas was a fixture in the neighborhood. They dealt with him every day and had for years.

It would be interesting to find out just what the jury used to make that determination. So far it looks like a cut and dried case of premeditated murder. As soon as Ramos put on those leather gloves, it became murder.

Kelly Thomas had also beaten his own grandfather over the head with a fireplace poker years before....because of his drug use and mental health.
 
The thing is, mentally ill people should not be wandering around homeless. We need to go back to the days of institutions. It wasn't the concept of institutions that was bad, it was the way they were run, the way they were managed, the amount of money involved in maintaining them, the training of the staff, etc. Mental institutions should be places where those who can't cope with society can find safety, care and refuge. Instead they were mistreated, ignored, and/or abused. We need to go back to providing a place for these people other than the streets, but a safe and helpful place.

The public does not want to put many tax dollars into taking care of the mentally ill or the seriously mentally handicapped. But, they don't want them out on the streets. And they get very upset when something like this happens. But, police officers are not trained to deal well with the mentally ill, such as this guy with schizophrenia, and the average cop shouldn't be expected to know how to deal well with them. So when the guy shows no cooperation and acts crazy, they probably assume he is on drugs and is a danger to them. It's a vicious circle really. This man should have been in an institution designed to help him, give him a home, and take care of him; he should not have been allowed to be homeless out on the streets where he is a danger to himself and perhaps others.

We should lock people up if they aren't "normal"? Where does that stop? People have spent their entire lives in mental institutions because a random cop picked them up and wanted them off the street.

As for police dealing with people with mental illness, the fist thing to avoid is not beating the crap out of them just because they are having a bad day.
 
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