On Monday 7th at Orange County Court, California footage of 37 year old homeless man Kelly Thomas being beaten to death was shown at the preliminary hearing of two of the officers responsible. Though the footage has been known about for some time since Kelly's murder last July, it has finally entered the public domain. His family had been fighting to release the video, but it was held back until as late as possible – no doubt largely because of the damning picture it paints of the officers' actions.
Police initially attempted to arrest him following reports of a man 'looking in car windows', officer Manuel Ramos approached Kelly (who suffered from schizophrenia and was sat on the ground at the time) and threatened to start punching him if he didn't cooperate. While Kelly was understandably argumentative, it was not until officer Ramos shoved him that he stood up at which point Ramos and his colleague began a prolonged attack on Kelly striking him repeatedly with batons.
More cops arrive on the scene over the course of the assault, with each one getting stuck in themselves. Kelly was repeatedly hit, kicked and tasered as he lay on the ground pleading for them to stop. Eventually he is left handcuffed and unconscious when the police stopped to chat about who had the most grazes on their knuckles. Paramedics arrived on the scene but the Filth insisted on their minor cuts and bruises being seen to first. Kelly was left in a coma and died 5 days later.
Judge Walter Schwarm ruled that two of the officers (Ramos & Cpl Jay Cicinelli – the cop who tasered him) stand trial for second-degree murder and manslaughter.