A doctor testified on Tuesday that Kelly Thomas was in critical condition, his blood pressure far below normal, his heart beating twice as fast it should -- all signs of shock.
The Kelly Thomas Case: Timeline | Fullerton Police Ignored Misconduct, Report Finds
Dr. Michael Lekawa testified in the trial against two ex-Fullerton officers accused in the fatal beating of Thomas, a homeless schizophrenic, who was beaten in a struggle with officers during a call out at a Fullerton transportation center in 2011.
Ron Thomas said that as time went by his son’s body began to fail. Five days later, Kelly Thomas was declared dead.
“They actually kept him on machines so we could gather the family and come back on the 10th,” Ron Thomas said.
Paramedics testified that Thomas had flat-lined when he was first taken to St. Jude Medical Center before being transferred to UCI.
It was there, Lekawa told the jury, that he found fractures on Thomas’ head, cuts on his face and beard and X-rays showed more injuries to his chest and pelvis.
Prosecutors say his death was the result of a beating by Fullerton police.
“That’s the thing that gets me, the brutality of his murder how they beat him continually,” Ron Thomas said.
Former Fullerton Officer Manuel Ramos is charged with second degree murder.
Former Cpl. Jay Cicinelli is on trial for manslaughter and use of excessive force. It is the first time an on-duty officer in Orange County has been charged with murder.
Police went to the Fullerton Transportation Center the night of the beating in response to a 911 call from the nearby Slidebar nightclub that someone was trying to break into cars outside the club.
Investigators later determined Thomas was not responsible for the car break-in attempts.
A third officer, Joseph Wolfe, faces charges in a separate trial.
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