August 4, 2011 1:26PM 

# The Kelly Thomas Killing 

By [Tim Lynch](https://www.cato.org/people/tim-lynch) 

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The *[New York Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/us/04homeless.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=fullerton&st=cse)* reports on the protests that are underway as a result of the beating and killing of one Kelly Thomas. Several witnesses reportedly saw several cops savagely beat Thomas *after* he was already in handcuffs and subdued. Here’s an excerpt from the *[Orange County Weekly](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/kelly-thomas-beating-fullerton-police-brutality-300.jpg&imgrefurl=http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2011/07/kelly_thomas_fullerton_police_1.php&usg=__mfONZBbG_y9z2eAYYt-AgeYAylw=&h=300&w=300&sz=80&hl=en&start=16&zoom=1&itbs=1&tbnid=RWa2UIYY3DCoHM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=116&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dkelly%2Bthomas%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26biw%3D1260%26bih%3D830%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch&ei=E846TvPhEqb20gHKndmxAw)* on the incident.

> On a beautiful Southern California Saturday more than 250 outraged local citizens ignored the chance to spend a sunny day at the beach, swim in their pools, shop at the mall or sip Mimosas on their porches.
> 
> 
> Instead, for six hours a diverse group of citizens–grandmothers, little kids, lawyers, college students, businessmen and women, housewives, ex-cops, young parents, a mechanic, a dentist, a construction worker, a guy who looked like he’d just left a gay leather bar–hell, you name a group and they were probably represented–stood outside the Fullerton Police Department, waved homemade signs and shouted in protest against a grotesque case of police brutality.

When one sees the photo of what Kelly Thomas looked like in the hospital bed after the awful beating, one can better understand why people are so outraged and in the streets protesting. Here’s the [photo](http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/kelly-thomas-beating-fullerton-police-brutality-300.jpg) (caution: viewer discretion advised!).

##### Related Tags 

[Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) 

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