For the first time, the Orange County District Attorney is speaking out about the officer-involved beating of a homeless man in Fullerton.
The office of Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas told NBC4 there is no evidence to show the officers intended to kill Kelly Thomas, but they are still trying to determine if officers used excessive force in his death. They say if the D.A. finds that the officers used excessive force, they will face second-degree murder charges.
Meanwhile, there is a growing amount of people who want to get to the bottom of this investigation. One of them is a blogger, Tony Bushala. He is doing everything he can to draw attention to what happen.
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Three years ago, he started a not-for-profit blog called FullertonsFuture.Org. “I believe in transparency. Police know who we are; we need to know who they are,” said Bushala.
Bushala's blog, run by non-journalists, has named the officers believed to be involved in the July 5 altercation with Thomas. Now, their focus is on uncovering what happened that night.
In the meantime, police say their focus is the integrity of the District Attorney's investigation. “We have every confidence they will conduct a complete investigation. The whole community is watching so we know they will do a thorough and complete job,” said Fullerton Police Department Sgt. Andrew Goodrich.
That’s something Bushala hopes for as well.
“Truth is what we need to seek. It can’t hurt if you’re telling the truth,” said Bushala.
