2 police officers charged in death of homeless man - Associated press
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — The fatal police beating of a mentally ill, homeless man, prosecutors say, began with one officer snapping on a pair of latex gloves and a single threat.
Kelly Thomas was sitting on a curb in Southern California as police checked his backpack when Officer Manuel Ramos donned the gloves and made two fists in front of him. Prosecutors say Ramos then said: "Now see my fists? They are getting ready to F you up."
"This declaration was a turning point — a defining moment," Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said, as he announced Wednesday that Ramos and another officer have been charged in Thomas' death.
Officer Manuel Ramos, a 10-year veteran, was charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. His lawyer disputed Rackauckas' account, saying Thomas violently resisted arrest. Cpl. Jay Cicinelli, a 12-year veteran, faces involuntary manslaughter and excessive force charges. He pleaded not guilty.
In the 10-minute long beating, Fullerton police officers pinned Thomas to the ground so hard that he had trouble breathing. Prosecutors say he was shocked four times with a Taser, kneed in the head, punched in the ribs and bashed eight times with the butt of a stun gun.
Thomas screamed for his father, begged for help and cried out that he couldn't breathe. Then he lost consciousness. That, prosecutors say, should have alerted officers that Thomas was seriously injured.
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