EMOTIONAL EVENING LISTENING TO PUBLIC COMMENTS ABOUT KELLY THOMAS AT THE FULLERTON CITY COUNCIL. By Barry Levinson
https://youtu.be/a6GfxBA-Wdo
Dana Pape, the step mom of Kelly Thomas and Tina, the sister of Kelly Thomas both spoke at Public Comments last night at the Fullerton City Council.
They spoke from their hearts and they spoke the truth. The pain of loosing a loved one does not diminish much over time especially when justice was not served at all.
Comment To Those That Are Heartless! Yes you should care about what happened to Kelly Thomas and not rationalize that because he was homeless and mentally ill that he was somehow less of a person. He died a horrific death, murdered by members of the FPD. They were not found guilty but what do you call that senseless brutal beating with three, then four, then five and finally six officers present at various times during the horrific assault carried out by some of FPD’s so-called finest? What do you call that beating death of an innocent man as proclaimed by none other than former Police Chief Danny Hughes. Hughes stated that he was an innocent man officially at a City Council meeting. Yet his training officer Steven Rubio testified under oath that no Fullerton policies or procedures were broken that fateful night.
Meet Training officer Rubio “In the video, all things considered, I don’t see anything out of policy,” Rubio said.
Kelly Thomas after no procedures were violated according to Rubio
Training officer Rubio on the right pictured with Pat McKinley on the left who proudly proclaimed on TV that “I hired em all” referring to the killers cops that murdered Kelly Thomas including hiring a one eyed cop Jay Cicinelli who failed to meet even the most minimum standards-
Pat Mckinley pictured on the right- a police chief who didn’t even follow his own departments rules or procedures when it came to hiring a one eyed cop-
The highest ranking officer on the scene, Sgt. Kevin Craig testified under oath that no Fullerton policies or procedures were broken that fateful night.
Sgt Kevin Craig was named supervisor of the year by his union after helping the killers go free.
Kelly Thomas after no procedures were violated according to Craig
Question to Danny Hughes now retired and VP of Security for the self proclaimed Happiest Place on Earth, Disneyland. How could two of your officers testify under oath that no FPD policies or procedures were broken that night let alone criminal statutes, when you proclaimed he was an innocent man?
Hughes
Kelly Thomas after no procedures were violated
Is that what your Fullerton Policies and Procedures manual calls for former Police Chief Danny Hughes? Does your FPD Policies and Procedure Manual state that it is within procedure for FPD officers to start a savage gang attack on an innocent man resulting in his death? Not one of the officers present had the decency to say to all the other officers enough already, while Kelly was repeatedly and incredibly courteously pleading for his life, referring to all of them as sir.
When I watched the entire video, there were so many thoughts floating through my mind.
First I thought as bad as I had heard the beating was there was nothing to prepare me for the savagery and the total lack of any reason to hit Kelly Thomas not even once let alone hundreds of times.
Second, it hit me that a homeless mentally ill man was the only person who acted sanely that evening. In my humble opinion it was the cops who acted like mentally deranged savages.
Thirdly, I thought how horrible, how unimaginable to die needlessly in that fashion. The actions of those police officers present was so brutal, so inhuman and so barbaric.
And now two of them Cincinelli and Wolfe are suing the City of Fullerton for their jobs back with back pay.
Wolfe
Cicinelli
Finally, in my opinion due to the statements of one Danny Hughes
Dan Hughes pictured on the right with one of “his untouchables” FPD PIO Radus on the left. “One piece of evidence introduced in the Irish arbitration that shed some light on the Fullerton Culture of Corruption was a copy of a poster that was hanging in the locker of Fullerton Police PIO Sgt. Jon Radus. It is a photo-shop likeness of a movie poster from the movie the “Untouchables”. It depicts the face of Dan Hughes overlooking a gun toting gang of thirty’s era cops with the faces of Sgt. Corbett, Sgt. Radus, Sgt. Garah and Sgt. Petropulos superimposed on the bodies. All of these police supervisors played a dubious role in the termination of Corporal Paul Irish.”
and the testimony under oath of the FPD trainer and Sgt Craig, they will probably end up with multimillion dollar settlements from the Fullerton taxpayer. How do you uphold their firing when two of the FPD’s so-called finest testified under oath that no FPD Policies or Procedures were broken that night.
This should be a case study presented in every police academy on what every officer should never do concerning the brutal death of Kelly Thomas. It should also be training as how to not as law enforcement employees try to justify those dastardly police actions after the fact in court by an official training officer.
And to all the City Council weasels siting on the dais last night, not one of you had the decency to state that what was done to Kelly Thomas was a low point in the entire history of the FPD and that you feel for the loss suffered by Dana and Tina and will do everything possible to make sure it can never ever happen again in the City of Fullerton. Instead some legal mumbo jumbo by the Mayor and total silence from the other four council members.
Heartless and cold blooded Jennifer Fitzgerald once again ignored the pleas for justice by the decedents family
Downtown bar owner sycophant Greg Seborn pictured on the right ignored the impassioned pleas for justice by the bereaved family members even after the city attorney cleared them to speak on the incident.
Jesus Silva was given the green light to give his condolences to the family members present and couldn’t give the simple we are sorry for what happened to Kelly Thomas.
Mayor Doug Chaffee failed to show any humanity towards the community or the family of Kelly Thomas last night when all he could muster was some legal jargon
Downtown bar owner sycophant State Senate candidate Bruce Whitaker chooses to do the wrong thing once again by remaining silent ignoring the hearyt wrenching testimony of Kelly Thomas’s family.
#1 by Rubio and Mckinley on February 23, 2018 - 10:13 am
Apparently Corporal Steven Rubio with The Fullerton Police Department promotes and teaches FPD officers ‘deadly excessive force techniques
https://www.presstelegram.com/2013/12/17/fullerton-officers-used-stun-gun-properly-on-kelly-thomas-training-corporal-testifies/
“A corporal who trained two officers on trial in the fatal beating of a homeless man in Fullerton testified today that they acted mostly within the city’s policy when they dealt with the suspect.
Cpl. Stephen Rubio testified that ex-Officer Manuel Ramos may have strayed from policy when he used profanity as he spoke with Kelly Thomas prior to the deadly struggle at the Fullerton Transportation Center on July 5, 2011, but otherwise acted properly.
Rubio added that ex-Cpl. Jay Cicinelli used his stun gun properly, including when he deployed it as an “improvisational tool” for punching the transient in the head.
“In the video, I honestly don’t see anything out of policy there,” Rubio said when discussing Cicinelli striking Thomas with the butt of the gun.
Cicinelli was trained in how to keep a suspect from taking away his weapon, which defense attorneys claim Thomas was trying to do during the struggle, Rubio testified.
It wouldn’t be “practical” for Cicinelli to have discarded the weapon during the struggle if it wasn’t working because Thomas could have retrieved it, Rubio said. The “loud clacking” of the stun gun that can be heard on the video indicates it was not working as it should to subdue the suspect, he said.
When asked if Cicinelli was right to strike Thomas in the head with the stun gun, Rubio testified the police department’s policy “allows for the improvisation of a tool or weapon under certain circumstances.”
As for Ramos putting on latex gloves and then holding up his fists to Thomas before threatening to “(expletive) you up” if he didn’t follow orders, Rubio said the defendant properly used a “conditional threat.”
Rubio added, “The profanity is a little off color, a slight policy violation.”
Although the profanity was “unprofessional,” using the threat to avoid a physical fight was OK “for the greater good,” Rubio testified.
Assistant District Attorney Jim Tanizaki got Rubio to acknowledge that “improvised weapons” are OK under the department’s policy when “reasonable,” and that there’s an admonition against head strikes with an impact weapon.
Rubio also testified, under questioning by Tanizaki, that after the first deployment of a stun gun, a suspect must be given time to comply with orders because the immediate reaction to a Taser might be improperly construed as resistance.
When Tanizaki pressed Rubio on whether a suspect should be given more than one chance to comply, the corporal resisted.
Rubio testified that he recalled Cicinelli struck Thomas four to six times with the stun gun. But after he was shown the video in court, he revised his estimate to three times.
“I see his arm moving back in a circular motion, but I can’t tell if that’s a strike or not,” Rubio testified.
Officer Kenton Hampton can be seen on the video jumping away from the struggle, an “indication he got a bit of that Taser discharge,” Rubio testified.
Tanizaki questioned Rubio on whether Ramos’ threat to Thomas could be viewed as a provocative act.
“Do you agree words can foster and create an environment for confrontation?” the prosecutor asked.
“It’s possible,” Rubio responded.
Tanizaki also questioned Rubio about a part of the policy that discourages threats to mentally disabled suspects.
“With respect to individuals who are mentally disabled, aren’t you taught to avoid threats?” Tanizaki asked.
“Once again, it depends,” Rubio replied.
The prosecutor asked Rubio if he trained Ramos to not threaten mentally disabled suspects.
“I taught him to communicate with people effectively whether they were mentally ill or not,” Rubio said. “You try to treat everyone with calming language … That’s what we try to teach.”
Rubio also testified that blows to some parts of the head are less dangerous than others, and that the plastic stun gun would be “not as dangerous” as a police baton, or asp.
Retired FBI use-of-force expert John Wilson Jr. testified for the prosecution last week that Ramos and Cicinelli did not follow proper procedures. Wilson testified that Ramos “aggressively slapped” at Thomas and that he had reason to fear the police and run from them.
“I have problems with everything that happened after” Ramos put on the gloves and held up his fists to the homeless man, Wilson testified.
Wilson also testified that it was “not be good proper police procedure” for Cicinelli to strike Thomas with the butt of a stun gun.
Ramos is charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter and Cicinelli is charged with involuntary manslaughter and excessive force.”