I agree with the verdicts.
This case is very complicated and not simply a matter of police officers using excessive force (which they definitely did). This case, like most cases, needs to be examined from the very beginning and a determination must be made as to the proximate cause of the incident. A proximate cause is that item which, were it not present, the outcome could not have happened in the same way. More on that later.
Kelly Thomas was a 37-year-old homeless man who roamed the streets of Fullerton, California. Apparently, he was schizophrenic and had been involved in numerous run-ins with the police. According to a story in the Orange County Register, from 1990 until 2011, he had been arrested 92 times. While the majority of these arrests were for minor incidents, not all were. His most serious charge was for assault with a deadly weapon. This is not the type of man who should be left to wander the streets.
And therein lies the problem. Kelly Thomas was born to Ron and Cathy Thomas in 1974. Ron is a former Orange County sheriff's deputy. Ron and Cathy continue to live in the area, so why was their son homeless? Why was a schizophrenic with a history of violence and criminal activity allowed to roam the streets unchaperoned?
I have not been able to find any good reason why Kelly was homeless. He had a family living in the area and from their actions since his death, they appear to have loved the man. Why, then was he homeless? Apparently, the family was not able to deal with his mental illness so they released him to the streets so he could be someone else's problem. I cannot reach any other conclusion. If this is so, then the proximate cause of this action was the action of the parents. Had their child not been homeless, the police would not have been called to stop him from breaking into cars. The parents, then, are the cause of this entire incident.
If that is the case, then the city, with their limited training in dealing with mental illness, stopped a violent criminal. Undoubtedly they went too far and firing the officers involved is certainly just but charging them with murder, in my opinion, goes too far. These officers were sworn to protect the citizens and since Kelly Thomas had a history of violence, they did what they had to do to ensure he didn't bring harm to anyone.
What about the parents? Why aren't they being charged? Because their child was an adult it is within their rights to release him but I would suggest that this is a problem with our society. When a couple brings a child into this world, that couple should be responsible for that child. In the case of a child with a mental disability, the parents are responsible for that child for the child's entire life. Ron and Cathy Thomas apparently absolved themselves of that responsibility.
Nearly a year after the death of Kelly Thomas the Fullerton City Council agreed to a settlement of one million dollars with Cathy Thomas. A civil lawsuit by Ron Thomas is still pending. The amount of that suit has not been disclosed. It seems that the parents made out very well in this case. They are rid of their burden and have made a good deal of money to boot. They really should quit while they're ahead.
One more thing, I keep seeing this photograph of Kelly Thomas in the news stories:
One more thing, I keep seeing this photograph of Kelly Thomas in the news stories:
This picture is from 2002, nearly ten years before his death. There is another picture that was taken by police in 2009, two years before his death. That picture is this one:
That paints a much different picture of the man.
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