Fullerton Recalls City Council Members Over Kelly Thomas Death

While most have been paying attention to the events in the Wisconsin recall election, another recall election happened last night in the city of Fullerton, Calif. Fullerton residents recalled city council members, Don Bankhead, Pat McKinley and Richard Jones, sparked by the killing of Kelly Thomas by city police officers in early July 2011.

The recalled members will be replaced by Greg Sebourn, a land surveyor, attorney Doug Chaffee and planning commissioner and blogger for the local small government blog, Friend's for Fullerton's Future, Travis Kiger.

The recall effort was largely funded by the backer of Friends for Fullerton's Future, Tony Bushala, a local businessman.

Bushala spoke with local affiliate, KTLA:

"We were fighting for justice in this community," said Tony Bushala, one of the organizers of the recall vote. "The citizens of Fullerton, they went to the polls and they voted. And they voted with their hearts and their consciences. They knew something terribly wrong happened in Fullerton."

Kiger spoke with Reason TV about breaking the Kelly Thomas story on Friends for Fullerton's Future in November of 2011:

For more Reason TV converage of the Kelly Thomas story see:

Cops Vs. Cameras: The Killing of Kelly Thomas & The Power of New Media

Outraged Fullerton citizens react to Kelly Thomas beating tape