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Video surfaces documenting alleged police beating of homeless man Kelly Thomas
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Video surfaces documenting alleged police beating of homeless man Kelly Thomas
8/8/2011 by Dogteam

 

d on YouTube that documents the horrific beating homeless man Kelly Thomas allegedly underwent from police in Fullerton, Calif. He died several days later as a result of the severe injuries he sustained.   The incident took place on July 5, after police were called about someone breaking into cars around a bus depot. The Los Angeles Times reports that when police tried to arrest Thomas, 37, on possession of stolen items, he resisted arrest.   According to Sgt. Andrew Goodrich, it took five to six officers to subdue Thomas, who ABC News reports was unarmed.   The YouTube footage, obtained by a student, does not clearly show Thomas being beaten, however, eyewitnesses have told media that the homeless man was lying on the ground and was unable to put up resistance to the officer's blows.   The Daily Mail reports that one witness, Mark Turgeon, said “They kept beating him and tasering him. I could hear zapping, and he wasn't even moving... He had one arm in front of him like this, he wasn't resisting. And they kept telling him, 'He's resisting, quit resisting,' and he wasn't resisting.”   Thomas can be heard crying out for his father, Ron Thomas, during the ordeal. Ron Thomas, a former sheriff's deputy, told the Orange County Register that his son suffered from schizophrenia and chose to be homeless.   “The only thing we have left of our son is the blood in the gutter, that's all we have left,” he said.   To see the YouTube video documenting the police beating of Kelly Thomas, click here.   He is also asking the district attorney's office to release video of the actual beating, which Ron Thomas claims they have.   Gawker reports that Kelly Thomas had a previous conviction for assault with a deadly weapon more than 15 years ago, which is said to have occurred during the onset of his mental illness.   Police are currently conducting an internal investigation into the officers' actions, while the DA is also investigating the matter.


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