Civil suit begins against police for death of Kelly Thomas, mentally ill homeless man

Jury selection has begun in the civil case brought by the father of Kelly Thomas, a mentally ill homeless man who died days after being beaten by police officers in southern California in 2011.

Attorneys began interviewing potential jurors Monday for the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Ron Thomas against the city of Fullerton, two of its former police chiefs and the six officers involved in the July 5, 2011, altercation.

Thomas, 37, died from mechanical chest compressions and asphyxia after being on life support for five days following the incident, according to a medical examiner’s report.

Attorneys for the police officers attest Thomas had a preexisting heart condition which caused his death, but footage of the altercation showed officers hitting him in the face with a Taser, repeatedly striking him with batons and smothering him while he cried for his father.

Mr. Thomas alleges the officers used unnecessary, excessive force in the incident, which was recorded on video camera and later ignited anti-police brutality protests in California and elsewhere after the man’s death.

Former Fullerton Officers Manuel Ramos and Jay Cicinelli were initially charged with the man’s death but were acquitted in a criminal trial last year.

Mr. Thomas subsequently followed a civil suit in the matter. His ex-wife Cathy, Thomas’s mother, has accepted a $1 million settlement from the city.

“The lawsuit for me is really about accountability,” Mr. Thomas said this week, the Orange County Register reported. “It’s for the city police department to acknowledge that they did wrong.”

Mr. Ramos’ attorney, David Lawrence, said in court Monday that the defense will “embrace the video” of the beating and show that Mr. Ramos was dealing in a “very patient manner with a very uncooperative” person, reported KPCC, a local radio station.

“This was an unfortunate incident. It’s unfortunate that Kelly died,” said Dana Fox, a private attorney representing the city, the Register reported. “But the city is looking forward to the jury hearing all the evidence — not just a picture or snippet of video, but all of the evidence — and rely on the law and jury instructions for a fair verdict.”

Kevin Osterberg, an attorney for former Fullerton police Officer Joseph Wolfe, added that Mr. Thomas’s “own conduct and disease in his heart caused his death.”

But Garo Mardirossian, an attorney for Mr. Thomas, said that condition can’t be blamed for the homeless man’s death.

“If he had an enlarged heart, they’re still responsible for his death,” Mr. Mardirossian said Monday. “There are rules about [police] force. And we believe they shouldn’t have used any force.”

Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of UC Irvine School of Law, told the Register that a lot is at stake in the trial, which is expected to continue through February.

“If the plaintiff wins, it will send a message of wrongful police behavior,” he told the newspaper. “If the police win, it will reinforce a sense of how difficult it is to convince a jury to hold police liable.”

Attorneys are expected to decide on jurors sometime next week.