Officer Manuel Ramos and Cpl. Jay Cicinelli will stand trial for the death of homeless man Kelly Thomas. Thomas died five days after an altercation in July of 2011 with officers at the Fullerton Transportation Center in Southern California.
STORY: What In The?!?! Police Beat Homeless Man To Death
Ramos is charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the death of Thomas, and Cicinelli is charged with involuntary manslaughter and excessive force in connection with the July 5 altercation.
Judge Walter Schwarm made the announcement after hearing from witnesses and viewing the surveillance video of the beating during a preliminary hearing that started Monday.
Dr. Aruna Singhania, the pathologist who performed the autopsy on Thomas’ body, testified saying that he died due to bleeding from his broken nose and other facial injuries.
The blood filled his lungs and oxygen deprivation left his brain dead, Singhania said.
The preliminary hearing included transportation center surveillance video of the beating, during which Thomas, who suffered from mental illness, can be heard calling for his father and telling officers that he cannot breathe.
UC-Irvine trauma surgeon Dr. Michael Lekawa testified Tuesday that Thomas suffered from hypoxia and that his body as a whole or a region of the body wasn’t getting enough oxygen.
The 38-year-old Ramos, a 10-year Fullerton police veteran, is free on $1 million bail, one of the highest ever posted in Orange County. Cicinelli, 42, is free on $25,000 bail. Both are on unpaid administrative leave.
Both pleaded not guilty.
Four other officers who responded to the bus depot were not charged. The incident last July prompted an ongoing FBI investigation to determine if Thomas’ civil rights were violated.
