One of the most shocking things to emerge from the Preliminary Trial of Manny Ramos and Jay Cicinelli for the killing of Kelly Thomas are the statements made by Fullerton Fire Department personnel that the cops received attention to their miscellaneous scrapes as Thomas, whose face had just been bashed in, and who was suffocating in his own blood, lay ignored nearby.
For pure callousness, incomprehensible inhumanity, and well, evil, it’s pretty hard to beat this story. The images of minor scratches sustained by the Fullerton cops is comical, especially given the fact that were sustained committing a crime; juxtaposed to the image of Kelly Thomas’s shattered face they present ample evidence about the nature of the beat down delivered to the homeless man.
Hilariously, Manny Ramos was quoted as saying he’d been in “the fight of my life.” Given that he was seventy pounds overweight, notoriously lazy and obviously a coward, this may actually be a true statement. Certainly it will provide a good headline for Lou Ponsi. But Ramos’ injury received a bandaid and off he went. Kelly Thomas is dead. He was dying on the pavement, alone and unattended, as the cops that killed him got first aid.
And that is truly sickening.
After being postponed twice the Preliminary Hearing in the case against Fullerton cops Manny Ramos and jay Cicinelli for the killing of homeless schizophrenic Kelly Thomas last July. Ten months have elapsed since that hot, fateful night.
Ramos is charged with second degree murder; Cicinelli with manslaughter.
The purpose of the hearing is for a judge to view evidence presented by the District Attorney and decide whether the charged should be bound over for trial.
All sorts of questions will be answered in the next day or two: will the DAs original charges fold as some have predicted? Will a cop-cozy judge say Ramos and Cicinelli were just doing their jobs? On the political side, how will more media exposure effect the Recall of the Three Bald Tires, occurring as it will with the delivery of absentee ballots?
For those who can make it, the hearing will take place this morning at 8:30 in Courtroom C1 in the Superior Court building, in downtown Santa Ana.
It was posted here six months ago, but I still can’t help but ponder the creepiness of this old film every time I think of Pat McKinley.
How could a human being justify such bone-breaking violence against passive citizens? I suppose it would require a complete emotional callousness towards the condition of anyone unlucky enough to live outside of his law-enforcement bubble. Indeed, the then-LAPD captain Pat McKinley told the judge that these folks had a “unique ability to withstand pain” that required his officers to use extreme force.
What sort of warped mind could spin out such psychobabble as an excuse for extreme violence visited upon the citizens of the United States of America? Well, the kind of mind that said this.
It just makes no sense to me at all. For decades this man has been trusted to wield the force of government in the pursuit of justice, and instead he has chosen to use it against those who stand in the way of his convenience.
It’s time to get this sociopath as far away from public office as possible. Forever.
Here’s a telling article from the Daily Tital that addresses the poor, misunderstood FPD. See, the real problem is just that the public needs to be better educated, and of course there was this little problem of transparency that gosh darn it, is just so much better now.
Despite including a good quote from Ron Thomas, the dad of FPD victim Kelly thomas, the author of the piece, Mark Payne steps in some deep FPD bullshit when he adds this gem:
The department has been under attack by various activist groups for almost a year since the beating of 37-year-old Kelly Thomas on July 5, 2011, which led to his death five days later. His death was allegedly caused by Fullerton police officers.
Wrong on all counts. The department is under legitimate protest for its serial malfeasances and crimes. And Kelly’s death was caused by members of the FPD. Nobody “alleges” that. It’s a fact. And the DA has charged two of the cops with murder and manslaughter. That’s just lazy work, there.
But it gets even better. New FPD spokehole Jeff Stuart is permitted a plaintive, last word:
Stuart said the last year has been trying for the Fullerton Police Department, but when you look at their track record versus other agencies, they do a good job.
“We want people to come down. I’m proud of this department … We are a good department,” Stuart said. “If you look at the number of calls we handle every year and the number of complaints we get in relation to those calls, (they) are minute — they’re infinitesimal.”
More pathetic handwringing and denial from the FPD. If the boy reporter had bothered to find out a little bit more about his subject he may well have asked which part of the following list constitutes “infinitesimal” complaints:
Alber Rincon – Serial molester of in-custody women; $350,000 settlement.
Miguel Siliceo – misidentification and incarceration of wrong man who spent five months in jail.
Cary Tong – accusation of battery and civil rights abuse; broken finger and missing cash.
Kenton Hampton – accusation of assault, battery, civil rights abuse, perjury. Wrong man almost convicted.
Frank Nguyen – accusation of perjury (see above).
Ramos, Wolfe, Hampton, Blatney , Cicinelli – murder, manslaughter, civil rights abuse, etc., etc. A dead man haunts the FPD.
FPD Command – allowed the killers to view the video of the killing and rewrite their reports until everybody got his story straight.
Todd Major – abuse of controlled substance, conviction of fraud. Ripping off Explorers? Really, Todd?
Kelly Mejia – conviction of grand theft at a TSA checkpoint. Crooked and stupid is no way to go throughout life, hon.’
Vincent Mater – charged with destruction of evidence in jail custody death. Hey, we banged that corpses head against the bars!
Andrew Goodrich – dissemination of erroneous information never retracted. Too busy to get it right?
Mike Sellers – protracted medical leave punctuated by a disability claim and massive pensioned retirement. Business as usual. La dolce vita!
April Baughman – charged with two-year’s worth of theft from the FPD property room. Okay, who’s the accomplice?
etc. etc.
Well, who knows. Maybe someday young Mr. Payne will have the opportunity to write the right article about the Culture of Corruption in the FPD and quit spinning puff pieces at the behest of kindly, avuncular police spokesmen. We can only hope.
Ah, dear me. I was just waiting for a last gasp from the old, die-hard liberals in Fullerton to oppose the political colonic flush Fullerton needs so badly; they didn’t disappoint. Check out this lame ad placed in the Fullerton Observer:
Predictable. We’ve already dispensed with the “recalls are for malfeasance” nonsense, here. Ironically, some might argue that cultivating a corrupt and murderous police force, colluding to keep an illegal tax, and giving away public property to campaign donors all rise to the level of “malfeasance,” but I’ll just let that pass.
What’s interesting in this list of names is that the average age is somewhere between 70 and 70 million, and that would take us back well into the Mesozoic Era.
These are the worthies who believe in City Hall heart and soul, no matter what idiocy emanates from it. These people sit on committees and even serve on the council itself whenever the repuglicans can’t stop them. They share a common love for government bureaucracies and processes, and more than anything else they believe in hollow platitudes and meaningless abstractions.
And where were these honorable men and women after a helpless, homeless man was murdered by their own police department? Nowhere near the protests, you can be sure of that. It just wouldn’t look good.
One might ask the question, “How in the world did Fullerton get stuck with not one, but two Dick Jones”?
This spectacle of Doc HeeHaw sharing his consternated confusion over the illegal water tax boils down to this: his lawyer, Attorney Dick tells him it is illegal and should be got rid of (15 years too late, of course); and Doc Dick agrees. His solution? Change the name of the tax!
Can it be possible that he actually believes the idiocy that tumbles out of his yapper? When it comes to muddled, loud, Southern-fried buffoonery there’s just no beating F. Dick Jones.
No surprise punches from Pat McPension, as he disagrees with Bruce Whataker about what to do with the money that is taken from us via an illegal tax on water. Mr. McPension has become quite fond of this tax since it went to pay his own bloated salary and pension over the years.
McPension wants to keep our money in an “escrow account” so that if and when the “experts” properly educate him and the rest of the council, they can decide what to do with their ill-gotten gains; then, presumably, “they” will let us peons know. McKinley goes even farther claiming that he supports plowing the illegal tax back revenue back into water infrastructure without so much as wondering how the infrastructure got so neglected in the first place.
Well, here’s what I say: a person who has the opportunity to kill an illegal tax and doesn’t is no better than the person who supports an illegal tax in the first place.
Here’s McPension in action:
I found this communication in our in-box yesterday:
An Open Letter to Doug Chaffee
April 23, 2012
Dear Mr. Chaffee:
I support the recall effort and will vote in favor of removing all three councilmen on June 5th. I support the statements made on the Notice of Intent to Recall, and I believe any candidate running to replace a recalled councilman should believe the same.
I saw this on Euclid today. The homeowner seems to be on both sides of the fence. It begs the question: Are you?
The rumor mill is spinning around town. It claims that you’re proud to receive Pat McKinley’s endorsement of your candidacy should the recall succeed; and worse publicly stated as much during a fundraising event at the Pint House several weeks ago. If this is true, this is not compatible with the Notice of Intent to Recall. You have to pick a side and you have to do so definitively.
In fact, I demand you take one of four positions immediately.
1) If you have stated that you’re proud to receive McKinley’s backing, you must withdraw your candidacy from the special election on June 5th. This statement does not meet with the spirit of the recall and is insulting to the electorate. Candidates not supporting the spirit of the recall should not be on the ballot. Just because you had some extra campaign signs sitting around from 2010 doesn’t mean you’re entitled to run.
2) If you find it morally acceptable to be proud of McKinley’s endorsement of your candidacy, state so in bold letters on all your campaign literature, website, Facebook account, and during any public appearances you make. Failure to be transparent on this issue is dishonest.
3) If you’re not proud of McKinley’s endorsement, state loudly and often that you’ve signed the recall petition and outline why Pat McKinley needs to go. Demand that those posting propaganda against the recall remove your name from their lawns. Take a stance and make it clear that no supporter of Pat McKinley is a supporter of yours.
4) Do nothing. If you ignore this open letter and succeed in your candidacy, count on being recalled.
Sincerely,
Ryan Cantor
P.S. Dear Friends, just to show what a small world it is, after all, the property above is the residence of one Beatriz Gregg, mater familias of the Gregg clan that includes our old pal Aaron, whose 2010 campaign was, um, something of a personal embarrassment.
Tarnation, Doc HeeHaw’s all het up on the topic a’ water rates and consarn it if’n he ain’t a-gonna share his mental commotion. Until suddenly he remembers he been told ta shut up!
So why didn’t somebody tell him that 15 years ago, and why won’t he just do it oncet and fer all?