A former Fullerton police officer acquitted of all charges in the 2011 beating death of homeless schizophrenic Kelly Thomas was arrested last month and charged with domestic violence, police confirmed Thursday.
Manuel Ramos, 41, was taken into custody on July 16 after police responded to a domestic disturbance call at his home on West Oak Avenue. Ramos was later released after posting $10,000 bail and the case has since been forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office.
Ramos was one of three officers charged in the Kelly Thomas beating death. The incident gained national attention and raised serious questions about law enforcements’ treatment of those in the homeless and mentally ill communities. Ramos faced the most serious charges of second-degree murder along with involuntary manslaughter, but a jury found him not guilty of both charges in 2014. Another officer, Jay Cicinelli, was also cleared involuntary manslaughter. The case against the third officer, Joseph Wolfe, were later dropped.
A year after the incident, Ramos was fired from the job. Kelly’s father, Ron Thomas, has since filed a lawsuit against Ramos and the City of Fullerton, while the FBI has opened a probe of its own.
Read more about Ramos’ recent arrest here.
Image Credit: Flickr User garryknight, https://flic.kr/p/jYZykc via (CC BY 2.0)