In the wake of the Kelly Thomas death,
citizens of Fullerton demanded answers as to why the harmless,
homeless, schizophrenic, man was violently beaten and ultimately killed
by Fullerton police. Video footage of the event was available, but not
made public immediately. The police department did not address the death
immediately, but waited before suspending the officers.
City Council member Pat McKinley claimed it took 30 days for the police
department to even address the Kelly Thomas issue because the police
department did not appreciate the gravity of the situation – even though
the before and after pictures of the victim very clearly depicted the
“gravity” of what had transpired. Councilman McKinley, who is also a
former Fullerton Police Chief, defended decisions to keep the video
under wraps, and insisted the cause of death was undetermined. He
further defended the officers by claiming the eye witnesses’ accounts
were “exaggerated” and claiming that it was not physically possible for 6
men to beat one victim at the same time (see his heinous interview
below, with some very compelling and on-point questions by the
interviewer).
