Justice for Kelly Thomas
If you haven’t yet heard about the beating death of Kelly Thomas, a homeless man in Fullerton, Ca, here is a link to the story and how it has brought out protestors of all stripes. I have been down at the police station almost every Saturday since the protests started, sometimes only for a couple of hours depending on the kids’ needs.
This is my youngest, Sophia, holding up a sign she helped to make. We have friends on the police force and are NOT anti-police, but I want to do everything I can to make sure that the mayor and police chief here in Fullerton know that their citizens won’t just accept this lying down. I am also trying to teach my kids that you need to speak up and try to make a change when you see something wrong.
Next weekend, there is going to be a memorial concert combined with a food and clothing drive for the homeless. The whole family will be going to show our support.
Thank you so much for writing about this story and police brutality cases. I share your sentiments and appreciate your approach. I, too, am a recent victim of police brutality.
My abusive ex-husband refused (at the time) to finalize our divorce, and instead falsely filed a restraining order against me and weeks later, filed a false police report claiming I violated this order – which, to this day, I have never been served with. The police, to this day, have NEVER conducted an investigation into his false allegations. And my abusive ex-husband has not been heard from since filing those 2 reports and never attended any hearings.
That did not matter to the Nashville Police Domestic Violence Division or the District Attorney – both of whom terrorized me for over 10 months despite 2 Judges dismissing the order, declaring I was the victim, and issued me a permanent restraining order and divorce from this man. Despite this – the police and the DA still pursued me, authorized a SWAT unit to conduct surveillance on me and my boyfriend for weeks prior to raiding my home, brutally assaulting me and severely injuring my boyfriend, then arrested me for violating a restraining order that did not exist.
To this day, I continue to fight the false charges filed against me by the police and the DA. I lost my job and my home – and because I have been falsely accused and falsely charged with crimes I never committed, my entire life has been turned upside down.
No one ever reports on the personal, professional and devastatingly financial toll when a person is falsely accused of a crime AND maliciously prosecuted.
My story is at http://justiceforisla.wordpress.com