Civil Liberties

New Witness Testimonies Surface In Kelly Thomas Case: "They Pounded His Face Against the Curb"; "He's Almost Halfway Dead"

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Surveillance video from the bus stop near where homeless man Kelly Thomas was beaten into a coma by Fullerton cops was published online yesterday. Security cameras inside an Orange County Transportation Authority bus captured a conversation between witnesses and the bus driver, who apparently reported passenger testimony to his dispatcher. 

"They caught him, pound his face, pound his face against the curb … and they beat him up," said one passenger. "They beat him up, and then all the cops came and they hogtied him, and he was like 'Please God! Please Dad!"

According to the Orange County Register, the community response to Thomas' death is affecting morale across the Fullerton Police Department. "It's not pleasant to see people in front of the police station calling the officers 'murderers,'" said one sergeant. 

Thomas remained in a coma from July 5 to July 10, when his family took him off life support. The FBI is investigating his death. 

The bus surveillance video: