“It’s becoming a disturbingly familiar scene in America -
mentally unstable cops”
A fire
department captain testified Monday in a hearing for two Fullerton police
officers charged in the beating death of Kelly Thomas that when he first
arrived on scene "nothing was being done" to help the mentally ill
homeless man.
Capt. Rob
Stancyk of the Fullerton Fire Department testified that seven or eight
Fullerton police officers were standing around a bus depot when paramedics
arrived, about 15 feet from Thomas, who he said was lying on the ground.
"Nothing
was being done," Stancyk said.
Stancyk
testified that initially the officers on the scene were complaining about their
injuries, but that then he turned and saw Thomas on the ground, barely
breathing.
The testimony
comes in the first day of a hearing to determine whether there is enough
evidence to order Fullerton police officers Manuel Ramos and Jay Cicinelli to
stand trial for Kelly's death last July 5.
The preliminary
hearing got off to a dramatic start as prosecutors showed a bloody image of Thomas'
face that elicited gasps from the audience. The image was taken at UC Irvine
Medical Center several hours after his encounter with police.
Ron Thomas,
Kelly Thomas' father, winced as the image was displayed on a monitor.
Prosecutors also showed a Taser allegedly used by Cicinelli in the beating of
Thomas. The weapon appeared to be bloodied.
Dawn Scruggs, a
nine-year forensic specialist for the Fullerton Police Department, confirmed
that the Taser had been used on Thomas. Scruggs also told of a pool of blood
where Thomas fell.
Scruggs
described the officers as having minor cuts but on cross examination
acknowledged Officer Ramos told her he had been in the fight of his life.
"He was
tired, exhausted and in pain," Scruggs said.
She said
officers Cicinelli and Scott Wolfe told her Thomas "would not stop
fighting."
Orange County
Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas called the officers' actions "gratuitous and
unnecessary" and noted the investigation showed Thomas offered no response
to the blows, indicating he was "down and seriously injured."
Both Ramos and
Cicinelli have pleaded not guilty and are free on bail while on leave from the
Fullerton Police Department.
Had enough? Write to the Speaker of the House, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and demand federal
hearings into the police problem in America.
Demand mandatory body cameras for cops, one strike rule on abuse, and a
permanent DOJ office on Police
Misconduct.