"I'd like this trial to proceed for my
son to get the justice he deserves," said Ron Thomas, the father of Kelly
Thomas, after a judge Friday in Santa Ana refused to dismiss charges against
two former Fullerton police officers charged in connection with the beating of
Kelly Thomas, who later died of his injuries.
An Orange County Superior Court judge has
set a trial date for two ex-Fullerton police officers involved in the 2011
beating death of mentally ill homeless man Kelly Thomas.
The judge’s decision paves the way for the
first murder trial in Orange County history involving an on-duty officer in
uniform.
That would be Manuel Ramos, charged with
second-degree murder.
His lawyer argued in a motion to dismiss
the charges that Ramos was acting within his duties during his confrontation
with Kelly at the Fullerton Transportation Center.
But Judge William Froeberg disagreed,
writing: “Officer Ramos, with no apparent reasonable cause to believe Mr.
Thomas was a danger to himself or to anyone else began striking Mr. Thomas with
his baton.”
Froeberg noted that Ramos continued
compressing Thomas’ chest, even after Thomas said nine times he couldn’t
breath.
In a Santa Ana court Friday, Froeberg
ordered Ramos and Jay Cicinelli – charged with involuntary manslaughter - to
face a jury trial June 28th.
It’s unlikely the officers will actually go
to trial then. Their lawyers said they need more time to prepare…something
Thomas’ father, Ron, found laughable.
“July would be two years since Kelly was
killed and that defense team was with them since day one, said Thomas. “They
could literally write novels on this case with the amount of information
they’ve had. So now it’s a stall game.”
The judge didn’t set a trial date for a
third officer charged in the case, Joe Wolfe, facing involuntary manslaughter
charges.
Orange County District Attorney Tony
Rackauckas said he’d like all three cases combined, but not if it delays a jury
from hearing arguments.
“This is a case that really has to go to
jury, said Rackauckas. “We need a jury as representatives and conscience of the
community to make some decisions about how far police can go”
And how far officers can go will be the
question for jurors to decide. Were Ramos, Cicinelli, and Wolfe acting within
their rights when they beat Kelly Thomas to death?