Police Behavior: Above The Law

The number of cases of police brutality lately is disturbing.

On January 13, 2014, two former California police officers were acquitted in the killing of a homeless man. Interestingly enough, the jurors had the opportunity to actually see the incident in question. A 33 minute video of the police officers’ confrontation with the man was shown to the jury. The homeless man’s name is Kelly Thomas. Kelly’s story should not be forgotten.

The video makes us wonder whether this was a ?fair “fight.” Thomas was one man, versus the police department, of which had six men on the scene. They can be seen hitting, kneeing, and jolting him with a stun gun,?while?Mr. Kelly was on the ground. What is proper police protocol in these situations? Was this man truly a threat to these six grown officers? The jury must have thought so.

The Defense said that Thomas refused to abide by police officers orders and was fighting them so much, that they ended up calling for backup. They also allege that he tried to reach for one of the officer’s stun guns. (This allegation of “trying” to do something seems to be common nowadays).

The altercation started because an officer came after a call about a man trying to jiggle the handles of car doors in a transit center. The officer, Ramos, became agitated with Kelly after he didn’t sit on a curb with his hands on his knees.Ramos made threats, saying (to Kelly) “his fists were “going to (expletive) you up.”

When another officer arrived, he ended up hitting Kelly multiple times with the butt end of his stun gun in the head and face. Thomas died 5 days later, after being taken off life support. What makes this story more tragic, is that it seems as if Kelly Thomas suffered from schizophrenia. His family says he was mentally ill and this leads me to believe that this incident could have been due to a schizophrenic episode suffered by Kelly. The Defense wanted to blame drug abuse and all other sorts of negative characteristics that they bestowed upon the deceased victim. However, toxicology reports showed that there was no alcohol or drugs in Mr. Thomas’ system at the time of the incident.

What made these officers do this? Could they not have possibly restrained Mr. Thomas in a safe manner? There were six cops and only one of him.The question of whether they were in danger and acted lawfully, is the central question, especially since Kelly had no weapons on him. In the surveillance video, we see officers surrounding the man and even on top of him. It does not seem like Kelly ever had control over them or was threatening their lives in any way, but the officers to be fair, could have thought differently at that time.

The officers can be heard implying that Mr. Thomas was on something while this incident was occurring. We know this not to be true. But, in the video you can hear the homeless victim saying “daddy, daddy” while getting beaten. This is not a normal reaction for a man in this position. It is evident that he suffers from some mental problem, if not a disorder or disease. [We now of course know that it was Schizophrenia.] Did the officers ever think that he may be mentally ill? Legitimately? ?We cannot be sure. What should be kept in mind though, is the real degradation of the homeless that can lead to preconceived notions; whether or not that happened here, we must ask whether it would have happened under the same circumstances, if the guy was wearing a suit and tie.

WARNING***: Graphic Content Below

 

 

 

 

This Image Shows Kelly's Face After The Beating

 

 

Across the country and to the south, we go back down to the ever-controversial state of Florida. Also on January 13, 2014, A retired police officer, Curtis Reeves, shot and killed a man at a Florida Movie theater because he was texting during previews for the movie “Lone Survivor.” The victim, 43 year old Chad Oulson, was apparently texting his daughter’s babysitter when he entered into an argument with Reeves. The murderer went to tell the managers and when he came back, further arguing ensued and intensified. Reeves claimed he “was in fear of being attacked” so he took out his semi-automatic handgun and shot Oulson, killing him. His wife was struck in the hand with a bullet as she put it up to try and protect her husband. She survived.

Witnesses say there was popcorn thrown in the seconds prior to the shots. Now come on people. Someone was murdered over texting and popcorn? The defendant alleges that the victim struck him with an unknown object, but I have not seen any witness corroborate this story. Most just say there was arguing, popcorn thrown, then bang, shots.

“I can’t believe people would bring a pistol, a gun, to a movie.”

“I can’t believe they would argue and fight and shoot one another over popcorn. Over a cellphone.”

These were statements taken by a witness to the incident, Charles Cummings. I completely agree with him. The thought that I could be in a movie with my family or friends, and someone behind me is packing heat in their pants, is a frightening one indeed. And in what world is texting and popcorn throwing so serious that you must shoot someone over it? Ironically enough, the killer, as previously mentioned, is a retired police officer. Surely he must have known a better way to de-esculate this situation?

Or maybe not. ?Is de-esculation a thing? ?It seems that many people are acquitted of killings because they are deemed “justified” or just “acting accordingly.” In the very same state, we saw a man, who wasn’t even technically in power, George Zimmerman, acquitted of killing an unarmed teenager. His minimal injuries and flaky story, didn’t matter. He just did was he?had?to do. I am positive Reeves knew about Zimmerman’s story, and other cases of people getting away with murder.

Reeves is making it seem as if he will try and use the Stand Your Ground law as self defense for his trial. What a surprise. These cowards are continuously hiding behind this law. I have said this for awhile.

Killing someone should not be taken lightly. . You should only kill if absolutely necessary; Not over a broken nose (Zimmerman) or certainly not over the inconvenience of someone texting in a movie theater. The burden of self defense must be raised on these defendants. The excuses given for justifiable homicide should be critiqued harshly. So often, people get away with killing others. When people are in positions of power, this seems to happen more often. Lawrence Rosenthal, a Law professor at Chapman University School of Law, says that:

“Only a handful of police officers nationwide have been charged with murder for actions taken while on duty, and convictions in those cases are rare.”

Most cops are good, yes. Most of us would call on them if we were in need, and probably not even hesitate. I admit that I would. So this article is not a dig on ?cops. But there is a genuine problem with killings and people being acquitted. Do some act in careless, if not malicious, ways, because in the back of their heads they know the likelihood of them getting away with it is high? Regardless, this must stop. These two cases are very important, because their stories must be heard. Kelly Thomas and Chad Oulson should not have died, period.

To see some of the video of the Kelly Thomas incident, go here.

To read and see more on the Oulson incident, go here.

Edited/Published by: SB

I was born on January 13, 1990. I was born and raised in Charlotte, NC. I moved up north and attended the University of CT from 2008 to 2012. I currently also work at a law firm in Uptown Charlotte and have been helping with this organization entitled the National Independent Voter Coalition. My interests include: Politics (obviously), Basketball (playing and watching) and watching almost any sport, movies, reading, the law, human rights, entertainment, mostly Angelina Jolie and Beyonce. I am fun, caring, passionate, intelligent, and unique!