“Dad!”…”Dad!”…”Dad!”

The bloodcurdling cries of A 37 year old man pierce the night, as he screams out in vain for his father – who isn’t even present- to help save him. He is being beaten and tasered to what will be a slow and violent death in the streets of Fullerton, California, in a duel of six large, fit, men versus one unarmed, homeless man of 135 lbs.

Bystanders look on in horror and shock, during this July evening, capturing the entire event on camera. Although the images are fuzzy, their narrative comments and subsequent captions say it all.

Your first question might be: My God! Why wouldn’t these people help instead of just taping it?! A man is being beaten by a gang and all they can do is capture Youtube footage? Why wouldn’t they call 911? Why wouldn’t they call the…

WHO YA GONNA CALL?

Such was exactly the issue. Said onlookers *could* do little more than stand, watching, flabbergasted, and prepare a video for Youtube.

Why?

Well, the aforementioned gang of six who tased Kelly Thomas, sent him to the ground screaming, and then beat him against the concrete in a manner reminiscent of the gory scene in “American History X”…. each donned none other than the Fullerton police force uniform itself.

So who could they call?

DOWN WITH THE SICKNESS

“He was intoxicated,” one woman reported to another man, as a bus video surveillance captured her discussion during the aftermath. But, is it possible that symptoms of the schizophrenia Thomas suffered, could have been mistaken as this purported “intoxication” ?

However, you can’t really blame the woman for thinking it was mere drunkenness.

Who you can blame are the police who assumed he was just another inebriated homeless criminal upon arrival. The man suffered a medical condition. Who’s to say he even knew what he was doing during the crime he was committing? And, incidentally, what was this crime?

BAD BOY, BAD BOY WHAT DID YOU DO?

“Surely, he must have done something to warrant such a violent response…” some have surmised.

Was he beating a dog or a child in public?

Was he a pedophile?

Was he assaulting someone?

What was so vile?

I’m the first to say, “There’s always more than meets the eye”, when it comes to random video footage. That’s why I read and research the back story prior to making any assertions.

However, try as I might, I could not find one good police interview regarding an explanation for this horrific happenstance, which transpired almost exactly one month ago.

Nothing after an entire month?

I’m beyond skeptical. And I’m not the only one.

In my hunt, the only thing I could muster up, is that the officers are (obviously) on suspension, and that the initial call against Kelly was due to the fact that he was allegedly attempting to break into cars. Someone reported it. Two police cars responded, then two more, then a final two, resulting in the grand total of six cops against one man – all for an attempted car break in.

By the time they had finished issuing their murderous assault, I bet that whoever made that call felt somewhat badly; I’m sure they never guessed that their actions made with good intentions to safely halt a crime, would end in a man’s demise via police brutality.

Kelly’s father admits, “no amount of love could save him” regarding the son he had namely raised himself; his feelings were based on the severity of Kelly’s mentally unstable state he had suffered for so long. Kelly Thomas, although schizophreic, was nonetheless described by those who knew him as a “gentle” person who enjoyed playing his guitar.

JUSTIFICATION

Now, I’ve met many a good officer in my time. But much like racial or gender or even “hair color” based stereotypes, those which apply to the police force will live on, reinforced many times over, so long as videos and stories like these continue to surface so frequently.

This isn’t just a “blondes are dumb” or “chinese all know math” or “women can’t drive”. This is real and serious and it is happening: Police officers are murdering (or nearly murdering/torturing) human beings for small time offenses.

So then, let’s revisit Kelly Thomas’ crime. Let’s say he was doing something much worse than a break in. Let’s say he was a murderer or any other of the vast non-contributors to society.

Yes, we may all agree that those people don’t have much of a purpose on the earth. Do they deserve to die? Maybe. I’ll say it : Maybe SOME people would be better off dead.

But the flip side to that fact is that NO ONE person has the right to execute that arguably deserved penalization. No person, outside of those in lethal execution, self defense, and the other obvious extenuating circumstances, has the right to take the life of another.

And, likewise, no one had the right to take the life of Kelly Thomas that night…. much less those who ironically are supposed to “serve and protect”.

By the time the Fullerton police force was done with Kelly Thomas, he was sent via ambulance to hospital. His own father couldn’t recognize his bloodied and bruised face, from the death blows he had received.

Whether Kelly Thomas was drunk, or merely displaying the symptoms consistent with his medical condition, is irrelevant with regard to whether anyone had the right to turn the handsome young man we saw above into this:

His psychotic debilitation, on the contrary, most likely not only played a part in why he was committing the crime he was, but furthermore would have been a solid defense if he had had the opportunity to live on, follow the proper protocol provided by the judicial system, and appear in court.

Which begs the question… how might this have gone differently if the police had done their job?

Think what you may, but this is just my hypothetical answer to that question:

I see July 5th 2011 having had the potential for a 180 degree change for the better for Mr. Kelly Thomas, had this evening gone differently.

I see the first two cops (not the additional four) that first appeared being sufficient. I see two fit cops (in California, cops are more physically fit than our D.C. cops), armed with weapons and trained in the safe intervention of crime, easily subduing this “gentle” man of light weight, without causing more than perhaps a couple of bruises (if he really was resisting arrest at all).

I see a court date. And a judge reviewing his mental condition and finding it germane to his offense. I see the issuing of an appropriate sentence, including mandatory mental guidance.

Many an ex-criminal has admitted that it took “rock bottom” or an encounter with the judicial system to get them on the right track.

Thus, I have right to believe that I even see Mr. Thomas acquiring the proper tutelage to help him manage his mental state healthily via a combination of professional guidance and the proper medication.

In fact, had the Fullerton police executed their duty with just a modicum of integrity that night, Thomas may have even become mentally competent enough to go on toward earning a living, making the father who loved him proud.

And finally, I even see him playing his guitar in his own new home… instead of on the streets – where he uttered his last pleas for mercy; sounds that will haunt his father forevermore.

“Listen to my son beg those officers, ‘Please, please, please God, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,'” said Thomas, referring to online audio of the altercation. “And, then, the last words of his life — ‘Dad, dad.’ I want you to hear that for the rest of your life like I will.”

<3~A