Fullerton Police Department Archives - Page 9 of 12

August 2, 2011August 3, 2011Law N Disorder

“They Killed Him.” New Video Shows Aftermath of Fullerton Police Beating

Friends for Fullerton’s Future obtained this video footage from an OCTA bus that pulled into the Fullerton Transportation Center moments after the vicious beating of Kelly Thomas by Fullerton police on July 5th. Listen to what these witnesses have to say:

Our transcription of the recording is here.

This new video is more compelling evidence that excessive force caused the death of Kelly Thomas. First there was the video where the homeless, mentally-ill man’s cries for his father can be heard as he is beaten and Tased:

And then we saw the shocking photo of Kelly Thomas before he died, which has now been widely broadcast on network television and news websites around the world:

But still, the majority of Fullerton’s city council have refused to release the video that clarifies the police actions that lead to the death of Kelly Thomas on that night.

While we stand shocked at the brutality laid bare under their administrative watch, they quietly whisper behind closed doors, delay, obfuscate, make excuses and ignore the cries of the public for answers.

The people of Fullerton deserve to know right now: Are we safe from our own police?

August 2, 2011August 3, 2011Behind Closed Doors

Who is Jay Cicinelli?

by Mr. Peabody462 Comments

The anonymous caller to yesterday’s KFI’s John and Ken program identified an Fullerton police officer with one eye as physically participating in the July 5th beating death of Kelly Thomas.

As hard as it is to believe, Fullerton does indeed employ a cop with one eye, and has been identified by our commenters as Jay Cicinelli. Cicincelli was a rookie cop in LA when he was shot multiple times in 1996 as described in this 1998 LA Times article.

Cincinelli1 — 2005 Orange County Register file photo of Hugo Garcia and Jay Cicinelli

Apparently in the aftermath of this incident Cicinelli was deemed incapable of meeting physical standards, was placed on permanent disability and separated from duty with the LAPD. Here’s where the story gets interesting, Fullerton-wise. Cicinelli’s career as a law enforcement officer was far from over.

Cincinelli2 — A more recent image shared by a reader; Cincinelli is purportedly the officer on the right.

It seems that a high ranking LAPD cop, Michael Hillman took special interest in Cicinelli and eventually he used an old LAPD acquaintance to land Cicinelli a job in Fullerton. That acquaintance? Yep, Chief Pat McKinley, as detailed in this glowing 2009 tribute to Hillman on the OC Sheriff’s website, after Hillman had followed Sandra Hutchens to the OCSD. Here’s the operative sentence by Cicinelli:

“I think he had a lot to do with getting me this job, I know he was good friends with (Fullerton Police) Chief Pat McKinley. How many departments are going to hire an officer with one eye?

The implications of employing and deploying a one-eyed cop on the streets of Fullerton are rather worrisome; the possibility that Cicinelli may have undergone severe trauma that has never been adequately addressed is even worse. Of course this latter issue is speculation; but McKinley’s role in bringing this cop to Fullerton calls into question issues of cronyism, poor judgment, and ultimately, perhaps, responsibility for what happened to Kelly Thomas.

July 29, 2011July 29, 2011The Crime Beat

Police Insider Offers New Graphic Description of Police Beating

by Travis Kiger354 Comments

Yesterday the John and Ken Show spent 4 hours expressing outrage over the Fullerton police beating of Kelly Thomas, the lack of media coverage and the cowardly concealment of evidence by Fullerton officials.

Towards the end of the show a man called in purporting to be friends with a Fullerton police officer. He passed along some new, graphic information on what was supposedly seen on the city’s surveillance camera, which the police are still not releasing to the public. Here it is:

Notable claims:

One officer supposedly beat Kelly Thomas with the butt of his Taser until blood started coming up all over the officer’s arms and hands.
Another officer supposedly drop knees Kelly Thomas’ nose and throat with the full force of his body weight multiple times, crushing the victim’s throat.
This happened while Kelly Thomas was not moving or resisting.

July 28, 2011July 28, 2011The Crime Beat

First Video of the FPD Beating Emerges

by Travis Kiger90 Comments

WARNING: Graphic Photo of FPD Beating Victim

by admin1,022 Comments

Unsolved Mysteries: Two Fullerton Cops Suddenly Put on Paid Leave

by Travis Kiger40 Comments

In response to a public records request, the FPD’s Professional Standards Bureau just told us:

Officer “H” was placed on administrative leave on July 8th, 2011. As of the last pay period ending July 22nd, the total salary for officer “H” is $3015.36

Officer “I” was placed on administrative leave on July 10th, 2011. As of the last pay period ending July 22nd, the total salary for officer “I” is $2871.76.

So now the big question is…were these officers involved in the Kelly Thomas beating?

Robert_Stack-UM — Perhaps you maybe be able to help solve... nevermind.

We’re not allowed to know the answer to that. But we do know that one of those leaves began three days after the event, and the other went into effect on the Sunday that Kelly Thomas was removed from life support.

For the record, these were the 8th and 9th Fullerton police officers to be put on paid leave pending an internal investigation in the past three years. Those nine officers earned a total of $227,595.92 for not working.

July 22, 2011August 21, 2011The Crime Beat

The FPD Lie: Broken Bones. Nope.

by admin47 Comments

The Fullertonian is reporting that the officers who got into a “scuffle” with Kelly Thomas did NOT suffer from broken bones, as erroneously reported in news broadcasts.

So where did this lie come from? Well, we know that FPD spokesman Andrew Goodrich fed that line to Matt Coker of the OCWeekly, as indicated in his July 7th article on the incident. So it’s safe to assume that Goodrich squeaked that one to the rest of the media outlets as well.

Of course Goodrich let the lie float around for two weeks while he ran damage control for the invisible chief.

July 21, 2011July 27, 2011Bruce Whitaker

Whitaker Says “Release the Video!”

by Mr. Peabody29 Comments

FullertonStories.com just published this letter from councilmember Bruce Whitaker, in which he demands that the video and audio recordings of the July 5th police beating of Kelly Thomas be released to the public.

Read the letter

Don’t forget to check out the printed responses of the other councilmembers, including McKinley who says “I disagree with that last sentence about releasing the video. It isn’t a wise thing to do and is for the authorities to do.”

What does that mean?

July 20, 2011July 27, 2011Dead heads

FAIL To The Chief

by Joe Sipowicz60 Comments

chief-sellers-300x240 — We have nothing to hide. Now it's off to the Caribbean...

We received the following correspondence from a long-time Friend.

The controversy surrounding the recent beating death of Kelly Thomas, a local mentally ill homeless man at the hands of the Fullerton Police has been marked by the absence of Chief Michael Sellers. The FPD has instead relied on its regular spokesman Sgt. Andrew Goodrich for information about the case. This might be thought an appropriate channel of communication if this were anything like standard police work. It is not. Six sworn peace officers beat a man to near death (he died days later) in the parking lot of the Fullerton Transportation Center, and no explanation has been offered other than that the man offered physical resistance and that a thorough investigation will follow.

The brutality of the beating has left many in this city asking how it was that six trained police officers could not subdue a single unarmed man without killing him. Chief Sellers, who is reportedly vacationing, neither returned to Fullerton to appear before the press and public or even offered a written statement about the tragedy. His complete absence does nothing to assure the people of Fullerton that there is responsible leadership being exercised over the officers in his department.