Jurors found two former police officers accused in the 2011 police brutality case of beating death of a 37-year-old homeless man not guilty on all charges.
Former Officer Manuel Ramos and ex-Corporal Jay Cicinelli were accused of police brutality and causing the death of Kelly Thomas in a violent struggle, prompting angry protests and closely watched criminal proceedings.
A coroner's report stated Thomas died of asphyxia due to chest compression and injuries to his head and chest during the struggle on July 5, 2011, at the Fullerton Transportation Center.
"I'm just horrified. They got away with murdering my son," said Thomas' mother Cathy Thomas.
"It's just not fair. I guess ... it's legal to go out and kill now."
The prosecution had argued that officers' beating of Thomas was unwarranted and that Thomas was not a threat to police and it was a clear case of police brutality
Defense attorneys responded that Thomas struggled back against officers - who called for backup after striking him repeatedly - and that he succumbed to heart problems due in part to drug use.
Opening statements began in the Santa Ana courtroom on Dec. 2, 2013, and the jury was handed the case on Thursday, Jan. 9. No deliberations took place Friday, meaning the jury had not met for a full day before reaching a conclusion.
The verdict was read back just before 4 p.m. Monday, with Cicinelli and Ramos not guilty on all counts. Each man embraced his respective lawyer after learning his fate.
Ramos faced the more serious charge of second-degree murder, along with involuntary manslaughter. Cicinelli was charged with involuntary manslaughter and use of excessive force.
A 30-minute black-and-white surveillance video - and audio from officers' recording devices - that showed a routine patrol stop escalate into a brutally violent confrontation.
According to KTLA news, An employee of a nearby bar had called police, saying a man was in the parking lot trying to break into cars.
Ramos responded and was the first to make contact with Thomas. His attorney, John Barnett, argued that Ramos had tried to use verbal threats against Thomas to avoid a physical confrontation and had used his police training correctly.
"See my fists? They're getting ready to [expletive] you up," Ramos can be heard saying to Thomas in the recording. Ramos made a show of putting on rubber gloves.
Cicinelli arrived when Ramos and another officer were already struggling with Thomas after swinging their batons at him. Cicinelli joined in the fray, pulling out his Taser to stun Thomas, and then bashing him in the face with the butt of the stun gun.
During the fight, Thomas cried out repeatedly for his father, saying he could not breathe.
"Dad, they are killing me," were among his last words, the recording shows.
The struggle left a pool of blood on the ground after paramedics responded, taking Thomas to a hospital.
After the verdict was read Monday, Thomas' father, a former sheriff's deputy, spoke to news media and reacted angrily.
"What was he doing but begging for his life that he deserved to get beat in the face with a deadly weapon?" Ron Thomas said. "They never said, 'Kelly, have you had enough?' He would have certainly said 'yes' because he was begging for his life."
Thomas was removed from life support and died five days after the encounter. Seen with a bloodied and battered face in photos from the hospital, Thomas had never regained consciousness.
