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FBI Investigates Fullerton Police in Homeless Man Death
The FBI is reviewing the scuffle between Fullerton police and a 37-year-old homeless man suspected of possessing stolen goods who later died, the bureau confirmed Friday.
The FBI is looking into whether Kelly Thomas' civil rights were violated when Fullerton police struggled to arrest him earlier this month, Laura Eimiller of the FBI said.
The Orange County District Attorney's Office is also reviewing the circumstances of Thomas' death to see if any laws were violated. The FBI review will be a parallel investigation, Eimiller said.
"It's a separate investigation... it's independent of any other investigation," Eimiller said.
Eimiller declined to say what triggered the investigation or if anyone requested it. It was unclear how long the investigation would take.
If FBI agents conclude that Thomas' civil rights were violated then they will forward their findings to the U.S. Dept. of Justice, Eimiller said. It would be up to federal prosecutors to decide if charges should be filed, Eimiller said.
Fullerton police welcome the review, Fullerton police Sgt. Andrew Goodrich said.
"The Orange County District Attorney is investigating and we're cooperating with that investigation," Goodrich said. "As far as we're concerned we'll cooperate with whoever we have to. In the end, we're standing by our call for an independent third-party investigation." The autopsy of Kelly Thomas was inconclusive on the cause of death, and investigators were still waiting for toxicology reports, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Coroner's Office.
Thomas, who had a history of mental illness, struggled with police as they tried to arrest him about 8:30 p.m. July 5 at the Fullerton Transportation Center, 123 S. Pomona Ave. Thomas' family had him disconnected from life-support machines July 10, Goodrich said.
Six officers were trying to arrest Thomas on suspicion of possessing stolen goods, Goodrich said. They were called to the Metrolink station parking lot to investigate a complaint of a man trying to break into vehicles, Goodrich added.
The officers found Thomas at the lot and because he matched the description of the suspect they started talking to him, Goodrich said. They found evidence that he was in possession of stolen property from a burglary, he said.
However, when they tried to pat him down to arrest him, Thomas spun away and started fighting with the officers, Goodrich said.
Source: NBC News