On the evening of July 5, 2011, plaintiff’s decedent, Kelly Thomas, 37, a mentally ill semi-homeless man, was beaten to death by several Fullerton police officers at the Fullerton Transportation Center. At the time of the incident, Thomas was shirtless, and wearing pants and slippers. Thomas was allegedly not armed with any weapon, nor was he under the influence of any alcohol or drugs. The decedent’s father, plaintiff Frederick Thomas, Jr., sued the police officers’ employer, the city of Fullerton. He also sued former Fullerton Police Officers Manuel Ramos, Jay Cicinelli and Joseph Wolfe, who were all fired from the department, as well as Fullerton Officers Kevin Craig and James Blatney, who remain with the department. In addition, the decedent’s father sued ex-Chief Michael Sellers and his predecessor, Patrick McKinley, who sat on the City Council at the time of the incident and was later recalled. Another Fullerton officer, Kenton Hampton, was sued, but later dismissed. The decedent’s father alleged that the officers’ actions constituted assault, battery, and excessive force in violation of his son’s civil rights and that the officers’ actions caused his son’s wrongful death. He also alleged that Sellers, McKinley and the city were negligent for failing to properly supervise the officers and that the city was liable for the officer’s actions. The decedent’s mother, Cathy Thomas, previously accepted a $1 million settlement from the city of Fullerton to resolve her separate civil suit in May 2012. In a criminal trial that ended early in 2014, Ramos and Cicinelli were found not guilty, and charges were dropped against Wolfe. In the decedent’s father’s civil suit, his counsel contended that Ramos and Wolfe initially encountered the decedent on the evening in question, but that the decedent’s mental issues prevented him from responding to Ramos’ questions in an entirely coherent manner. The Audio Digital Recorder worn by Ramos recorded the decedent’s statements, which included, “…I don’t speak English…I talk to myself…I sleep in trash cans…I know Mars and what the Universe is doing right now.” Ramos responded to the decedent’s comments by stating, “I don’t have time for your bulls–t.” Plaintiff’s counsel contended that as Thomas sat quietly on a curb, Ramos stood directly in front of him and threatened Thomas with extreme physical violence. Counsel contended that Ramos put latex gloves on each of his hands, while stating to the decedent, “Now you see my fists?…They’re getting ready to f–k you up.” Plaintiff’s counsel asserted that the decedent was brutally beaten and that Ramos and Wolfe, as well as other Fullerton police officers, pinned the decedent down on the pavement and used their fists and knees to pummel the decedent as he was stating loudly and repeatedly, “I’m sorry…I can’t breathe… I can’t breathe…Dad…Dad, help me…Oh God help me.” Counsel contended that one Fullerton police officer then repeatedly used his Taser on the decedent as the decedent screamed in pain and writhed on the ground from the repeated and excessive electrical current from the Taser gun. Plaintiff’s counsel further contended that after repeatedly deploying the Taser gun, the officer struck Thomas repeatedly and violently in the face with the butt of his Taser gun, and later stated at the scene, “I got the end of my Taser and I probably…I smashed his face to hell…I was thumping the s—t out of him…f—ing beat him probably 20 times in the face with this Taser.” According to plaintiff’s counsel, as the events were occurring, witnesses had gathered at the scene of the incident and had begun yelling at the officers, “Stop! Stop!…Take it easy!…You’re killing him!” However, the officers allegedly continued to beat and strike the decedent repeatedly until the decedent fell silent and lay unconscious and comatose in a large pool of blood on the pavement. The plaintiff’s experts would have testified about restraint asphyxia, police training and practices, the subject event, and the medical issues involved in the cause of the decedent’s death. The officers claimed that the decedent was uncooperative and resisting when they attempted to search him. They also claimed that when the decedent still did not comply with their requests, they used the Taser., Kelly Thomas sustained numerous contusions and lacerations, as well as Taser burns. When paramedics arrived at the scene, it was determined that Thomas had a faint heartbeat and was not breathing. Thomas was subsequently rushed to the University of California, Irvine Medical Center, in Orange. However, at 2 p.m. on July 10, 2011, Thomas was taken off of life support systems, and he died. The toxicology report showed that Thomas had no drugs or alcohol in his system. He was 37 years old. He was survived by his father and mother. The decedent’s father sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of his son.