Two Fullerton cops accused of beating a homeless man to death were found "not guilty" by jurors yesterday.
Officer Manuel Ramos and Corporal Jay Cicinelli were acquitted of charges that included: second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and excessive force used against Kelly Thomas (who was a diagnosed schizophrenic).
A video of the beating leaked online today. The video shows a lot of interesting things about how encounters escalate into lethal violence. As a sociologist, the video reminds me of a great scene from Pulp Fiction. Many people remember the scene where "Jules Winnfield" (played by Samuel L. Jackson) interrogates and eventually kills a captive man. I don't remember the exact details of this scene, but you might remember it because Samuel L. recites Ezekiel 25:17 before he executes this man.
However, if you watch the scene through another lens, you might also see it as a case for how people look for reasons to become violent in interaction. Even those used to violence work up the nerve to get there.
In this famous scene, Jules Winnfield questions his would-be victim and after becoming sufficiently irritated with him hurriedly responding "what," he commands him to say "what again." The implication here is that if the captive victim says "what" again (regardless of the context) he is openly defying Winnfield, providing a moral grounds to dole out punishment. Winnfield creates an almost impossible scenario for his victim. If the victims fails to comply, he is--at least in his mind--justified in using lethal force. This is similar to guys who walk around a crowded club hoping that someone will accidentally bump into them or scuff their sneakers.
Jack Katz writes about this in his chapter "Righteous Slaughter." He describes how violent offenders will often construct situations where the victim can work up their nerve to commit lethal violence. In other words, sometimes a person has it out for the other person and is just looking for an excuse to go off.
Now, back to the video. Watch Officer Ramos closely. He's the heavier set guy in the video. He does a couple of things that make me believe he was just looking for a reason to exercise force against Thomas.
If you watch closely, he has his baton out in the near the beginning of the video. At this point, Kelly Thomas appears to be compliant. Thomas is responding to both Ramos and Cicinelli, who ask him different questions including, "Where do you sleep?"
During this time, Ramos has his baton out and is twirling it around, as if he's preparing to use it. I don't know much about police protocol, but this seems like a terrible practice. Why have your baton out like that? Why even intimate that you might use it if the other person is calmly responding to your questions?
One of the officers asks Thomas to sit on the concrete and he complies. Then, several minutes pass where Thomas is sitting peacefully. Ramos stands by idly, just passing the time.
Near 14:40, he walks away and Kelly Thomas shifts his posture. Ramos returns and commands him to put his "feet out in front of you." Thomas eventually follows his command. Ramos then tells him to put his "hands on his fuckin' knees." Thomas sits back up and asks, "Which one is it?" Ramos yells back, "Both!" Thomas says that he can't do both, but reluctantly complies. Ramos then walks up closely to Thomas, balls up his fist and says, "You see my fists?" Thomas replies, "Yeah, what about 'em?" "They're getting ready to fuck you up." Thomas eggs on Ramos, "Start punching, dude!" Ramos violently shoves Thomas and commands him to put his hands back on his knees. Thomas shoves back and then stands up. Both officers now have their batons out and the beating starts.
The next several minutes are very hard to watch. In addition to clubbing him violently, one officer gets a kimura-like shoulder lock and drives his weight into Thomas who is already on the ground, subdued and controlled. At multiple times, you hear Thomas crying out that he can't put his hands behind his back and that he can't breathe.
As other officers arrive on the scene, Thomas' cries become more gurgled and strained. At one point, it sounds as if he was crying out "Daddy."
I know that these officers are not representative of the Fullerton Police or police officers more generally. But, I wonder if officers can manipulate compliance questions to lure a person into getting beaten? If we trace the escalation of violence in this video, we see that officer Ramos becomes increasingly agitated when Thomas says that he can't sit in a way that Ramos has commanded him to sit. He does so begrudgingly, but then becomes mildly resistant when he pushes back on Ramos (who has already indicated that his fists are "...getting ready to fuck you up").
I hope that this video and the case bring important questions to light about police protocol in stopping and questioning people. If not putting one's hands on their knees constitutes "resisting arrest," then we are all in trouble.
Officer Manuel Ramos and Corporal Jay Cicinelli were acquitted of charges that included: second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and excessive force used against Kelly Thomas (who was a diagnosed schizophrenic).
A video of the beating leaked online today. The video shows a lot of interesting things about how encounters escalate into lethal violence. As a sociologist, the video reminds me of a great scene from Pulp Fiction. Many people remember the scene where "Jules Winnfield" (played by Samuel L. Jackson) interrogates and eventually kills a captive man. I don't remember the exact details of this scene, but you might remember it because Samuel L. recites Ezekiel 25:17 before he executes this man.
 |
| Jules Winnfield played by Samuel L. Jackson |
In this famous scene, Jules Winnfield questions his would-be victim and after becoming sufficiently irritated with him hurriedly responding "what," he commands him to say "what again." The implication here is that if the captive victim says "what" again (regardless of the context) he is openly defying Winnfield, providing a moral grounds to dole out punishment. Winnfield creates an almost impossible scenario for his victim. If the victims fails to comply, he is--at least in his mind--justified in using lethal force. This is similar to guys who walk around a crowded club hoping that someone will accidentally bump into them or scuff their sneakers.
Jack Katz writes about this in his chapter "Righteous Slaughter." He describes how violent offenders will often construct situations where the victim can work up their nerve to commit lethal violence. In other words, sometimes a person has it out for the other person and is just looking for an excuse to go off.
Now, back to the video. Watch Officer Ramos closely. He's the heavier set guy in the video. He does a couple of things that make me believe he was just looking for a reason to exercise force against Thomas.
If you watch closely, he has his baton out in the near the beginning of the video. At this point, Kelly Thomas appears to be compliant. Thomas is responding to both Ramos and Cicinelli, who ask him different questions including, "Where do you sleep?"
During this time, Ramos has his baton out and is twirling it around, as if he's preparing to use it. I don't know much about police protocol, but this seems like a terrible practice. Why have your baton out like that? Why even intimate that you might use it if the other person is calmly responding to your questions?
One of the officers asks Thomas to sit on the concrete and he complies. Then, several minutes pass where Thomas is sitting peacefully. Ramos stands by idly, just passing the time.
Near 14:40, he walks away and Kelly Thomas shifts his posture. Ramos returns and commands him to put his "feet out in front of you." Thomas eventually follows his command. Ramos then tells him to put his "hands on his fuckin' knees." Thomas sits back up and asks, "Which one is it?" Ramos yells back, "Both!" Thomas says that he can't do both, but reluctantly complies. Ramos then walks up closely to Thomas, balls up his fist and says, "You see my fists?" Thomas replies, "Yeah, what about 'em?" "They're getting ready to fuck you up." Thomas eggs on Ramos, "Start punching, dude!" Ramos violently shoves Thomas and commands him to put his hands back on his knees. Thomas shoves back and then stands up. Both officers now have their batons out and the beating starts.
The next several minutes are very hard to watch. In addition to clubbing him violently, one officer gets a kimura-like shoulder lock and drives his weight into Thomas who is already on the ground, subdued and controlled. At multiple times, you hear Thomas crying out that he can't put his hands behind his back and that he can't breathe.
As other officers arrive on the scene, Thomas' cries become more gurgled and strained. At one point, it sounds as if he was crying out "Daddy."
 |
| Kelly Thomas was beaten to death by Fullerton cops |
I know that these officers are not representative of the Fullerton Police or police officers more generally. But, I wonder if officers can manipulate compliance questions to lure a person into getting beaten? If we trace the escalation of violence in this video, we see that officer Ramos becomes increasingly agitated when Thomas says that he can't sit in a way that Ramos has commanded him to sit. He does so begrudgingly, but then becomes mildly resistant when he pushes back on Ramos (who has already indicated that his fists are "...getting ready to fuck you up").
I hope that this video and the case bring important questions to light about police protocol in stopping and questioning people. If not putting one's hands on their knees constitutes "resisting arrest," then we are all in trouble.
Comments
Post a Comment