By Joe Wright

The prolonged beating death (37 minutes) of a homeless and mentally ill Kelly Thomas was an atrocity recorded for the world to see. The sheer viciousness in full view of an appalled public may be one of the worst cases of pre-meditated and coordinated police brutality that they world has been able to witness. What came after is considered by many to be even worse: the full acquittal by a supposed jury of Kelly’s peers of the police officers who took part in the torture-killing. In so doing, all involved in this injustice have given the green light for police to attack and murder others.

In August, 2011 Rady Ananda reported that the family of Kelly Thomas had refused an offer of $900,000 not to pursue civil action, such was the presumption of likely guilt for those involved. Protesters have been gathering since the murder – and their numbers are swelling in light of this latest travesty. However, when a crowd of more than 200 assembled yesterday in Fullerton, police moved in and made in excess of 12 arrests. While some arrests seem to be legitimate, the rest were taken into custody after simply refusing to leave the (public) protest site. The video below details the pursuit of justice where the traditional justice system has failed thus far.

Kelly Thomas didn’t deserve what he was subjected to; and an outraged public certainly deserves a far better police force than currently exists in Fullerton, CA.

Note to future protesters – please respect the wishes of Kelly’s family who would like to see the size of “Kelly’s Army” continue to grow, but they urge you to demonstrate your power through positive political action. You can raise awareness about this case and intelligently demand that changes be made inside the Fullerton PD without to resorting to the violence you are protesting against. And by all means keep your cameras ready to document any other episodes of police brutality, so that the world can identify the criminals masquerading as real police.

Full transcript with additional research links:



By Collin Ruane

Police in Fullerton, Calif. arrested more than a dozen people Saturday protesting the acquittal of two former police officers charged with the beating death of a homeless man.

KTTV reports more than 200 showed up to protest last Monday’s acquittal.

A woman at Saturday’s protest was arrested for assaulting a TV news photographer after this altercation was caught on camera.

According to KABC, police started asking protestors to leave after the assault. Police said they did try to accommodate protestors.