My heart breaks

[RHRanch]

So, I am really interested in how this trial will pan out. Kelly Thomas was brutally beaten to death. Unfortunately, so many people (like the mentally ill, or challengend) are forgotten by society and cannot defend themselves, they become the victims of violent crime, assault and murder. They also end up being incarcerated at alarming rates because there is no where for them to go and they can often get better mental health care than they do outside prison. It is a shame that there are not more group homes for them to live in - Some very effective ones are run kind of like half-way houses. Since these people are mentally ill, they have a supervisor in the home that makes sure they groom themselves, etc. I think we need more of that, it would help so many homeless people. We pay for thier care in prisons, wouldn't it be better if we could get them functioning and stop criminalizing mental illness?

 

[hemet dennis]

You go to the police academy and learn how.

The first thing they will teach you is Don't.
You seem to think the guy was weak. Look and you will see he has two cops on him and dragging them behind the bush. Did you hear them saying he had to be on something ? Some people are stronger then they look. You don't try to cuff a combative person.

 

[hemet dennis]

So, I am really interested in how this trial will pan out. Kelly Thomas was brutally beaten to death. Unfortunately, so many people (like the mentally ill, or challengend) are forgotten by society and cannot defend themselves, they become the victims of violent crime, assault and murder. They also end up being incarcerated at alarming rates because there is no where for them to go and they can often get better mental health care than they do outside prison. It is a shame that there are not more group homes for them to live in - Some very effective ones are run kind of like half-way houses. Since these people are mentally ill, they have a supervisor in the home that makes sure they groom themselves, etc. I think we need more of that, it would help so many homeless people. We pay for thier care in prisons, wouldn't it be better if we could get them functioning and stop criminalizing mental illness?

Yes they often are victims and that is why a lot of them have some kind of weapon.

 

[RHRanch]

The first thing they will teach you is Don't.
You seem to think the guy was weak. Look and you will see he has two cops on him and dragging them behind the bush. Did you hear them saying he had to be on something ? Some people are stronger then they look. You don't try to cuff a combative person.

We just have to agree to disagree. IMO There is just no justification (despite your valient and creative attempts to find them) for what they did and how they handled it. Thats why they are on trial. That and it was caught on tape. If there was no tape, they would have gotten away with it. So, you can have your opinion and I can have mine, but lets not hijack this thread with back and forth stuff.

 

[hemet dennis]

We just have to agree to disagree. IMO There is just no justification (despite your valient and creative attempts to find them) for what they did and how they handled it. Thats why they are on trial. That and it was caught on tape. If there was no tape, they would have gotten away with it. So, you can have your opinion and I can have mine, but lets not hijack this thread with back and forth stuff.

Yes we will.
But one thing if these cops had a record of beating people that would be something different.
I would guess that they don't or you would be reading about it.
Cops have the hardest job there is they never know what they are dealing with but it's always easy to say what should have been done after the fact.
Not long ago the cops shot and killed a guy that pointed a hose nozzle at them. the cops had a split second to make a life and death decision and people wanted to hang the cops.
Have a good night and may your chickens lay golden eggs.

 

[AllyJane]

So all I have to do is say I'm sorry and then the cops will stop and he can pull a gun out of his pants and shot them.

Did he have a gun? No. By saying sorry to me it means that he wasn't resisting, so pinning him down, without hurting him...


_____
Cops have the hardest job, that's hilarious ..

 

[hemet dennis]

Did he have a gun? No. By saying sorry to me it means that he wasn't resisting, so pinning him down, without hurting him...


_____
Cops have the hardest job, that's hilarious ..

How do you tell for certain someone doesn't have a gun ?
Did you know the one cop had been shot before and lost an eye on just a traffic stop ?
I don't care what he said he was still kicking and fighting.
So whats a harder job ?

 

[AllyJane]

How do you tell for certain someone doesn't have a gun ?
Did you know the one cop had been shot before and lost an eye on just a traffic stop ?
I don't care what he said he was still kicking and fighting.
So whats a harder job ?

Did you bother to read? He could have, but no need for kicking and punching someone when you already have them pinned, apart from the only had jeans on, and you could see roughly he didn't.
Yes, people get shot all the time, not just cops, did you know here in Aus a cop walked into a bar to stop a fight and got shot in the face and killed? wrong place, wrong time.


What makes a cop's job hard?
You could get shot? You could get shot anywhere!
Everyones job is just as hard, the army, hey you get fired at all the time!
Being a truck drive, you could crash.
Working at a shop, you could get robbed.
OR BEING IN THE MINES, WHERE THEIR COULD BE A COLLAPSE.

Death is all around us.

Not just one job...

 

[mixitup]

There are definitely ways to bring a person down without beating him to death. How do I know? Because I've had to do it. There was no reason for the excessive force that was used-whether or not he had a gun/knife/weapon of some sort. Six on one is more than enough to subdue a suspect without beating him to death. Many mentally ill people sound as if they are drunk as well-this can be due to brain damage, medications, speech impediments. The cops first job is to find out what the heck is going on and to diffuse the situation in a calm manner. There was no indication of a calm manner in the whole video. And more than 60% of homeless people are mentally ill. There isn't the help they need in Canada/US systems. If they do go into an institution, they are either dosed up so horribly they cannot function, or put in a box and left to their own devices. I'm not saying all places are like that, but, there are lots out there. These people need more support to be able to function through life and are not getting the help they need due to constrictions and budget cuts.

This man didn't need to die and I agree with the poster that said they (the cops) became of a 'mob' mentality.

 

[sourland]

Because they are authority figures with people's lives in their hands, they should face a harsher punishment for abusing such power. Power and authority should not come without restrictions and responsibility.

THIS! No, I have not and will not watch the video.