Fate of ex-cops in Kelly Thomas case nearly in jury's hands

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A supporter falls to the ground crying at a memorial at “Kelly’s Corner” after two former Fullerton police officers were found not guilty of murder in the 2011 death of transient Kelly Thomas in Fullerton. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Kathy Thomas, mother of Kelly Thomas, receives a hug from a supporter in front of a memorial at “Kelly’s Corner.” (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Protesters march outside the Fullerton police station after two former officers were acquitted in the killing of Kelly Thomas. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Friends, family and supporters stand at “Kelly’s Corner” on Monday night after two former Fullerton police officers were found not guilty of the murder of Kelly Thomas. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Ron and Kathy Thomas embrace outside the Santa Ana Courthouse Monday after two Fullerton police officers were found not guilty in the murder of their son Kelly. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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As supporters hug, Kathy Thomas sits in a chair outside the Santa Ana Courthouse on Monday after two Fullerton police officers were found not guilty in the murder of her son Kelly. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Ron Thomas, the father of slain Kelly Thomas, hugs Marlena Carrillo outside the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana after the arraignment hearing. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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A supporter of Kelly’s Army pays his respects at the site in Fullerton where Kelly Thomas was involved in an altercation with police that led to his death. (Barbara Davidson / The Los Angeles Times)

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Members of Kelly’s Army chant “two down four to go” outside the Fullerton Police Department after two officers were charged in connection with the death of Kelly Thomas. Thomas, a schizophrenic, homeless man, died five days after an altercation with police. (Barbara Davidson / The Los Angeles Times)

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Charlotte Cianciola of Buena Park gets emotional as the District Attorney announces that criminal charges have been filed against two of the six Fullerton police officers involved in the beating death of Kelly Thomas. (GIna Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas at the news conference in Santa Ana where he announced charges would be brought against two Fullerton police officers in the death of Kelly Thomas. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Christine Walker, center, of Fullerton, joins a crowd outside the Santa Ana civic center watching a TV broadcast of Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas’ news conference. (GIna Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Staff members listen as their boss Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas addresses a press conference announcing charges against two Fullerton police officers for the beating death of 37-year-old homeless man Kelly Thomas. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Larry Dewitt Williams, 56, gathers with other supporters in front of the Orange County district attorney’s office to show support for Kelly Thomas’ family. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Ron Thomas embraces Susan Wright after she delivered an emotional plea to the Fullerton City Council for better treatment of the mentally ill. Thomas and hundreds of supporters attended the meeting hours after the release of the coroner’s report on the death of his son, Kelly, at the hands of Fullerton police. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Fullerton City Council member Sharon Quirk-Silva, left, and Fullerton resident Erin Lewis, right, comfort Cathy Thomas after the council voted to retain an outside investigator to look into the death of Thomas’ son, Kelly, after a confrontation with Fullerton police. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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Cathy Thomas visits a memorial for her son Kelly at the Fullerton Transportation Center. She stops there several times a week to water the flowers and talk to people who pass by. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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Fullerton Police Captain Kevin Hamilton, above, was named acting chief of police after Chief Michael Sellers went on medical leave in the wake of the death of Kelly Thomas in July. (Mark Boster/ Los Angeles Times)

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People outside the Fullerton police station protest the death of Kelly Thomas. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)

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Gary Tayles, 45, of Los Angeles joins a group outside the Fullerton police station protesting the death of Kelly Thomas. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)

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Cathy Thomas, left, shakes hands with Fullerton police officers who barricaded a street to make room for a demonstration protesting the beating and death of Kelly Thomas. (Alex Gallardo / Associated Press)

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Fullerton Police Chief Michael Sellers talks with the city attorney before a City Council meeting. Many residents have called for him to resign. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

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An overflow crowd watches a TV monitor outside City Council chambers as the public voices outrage over the death of Kelly Thomas, 37, a schizophrenic homeless man who was killed during an altercation with Fullerton police on July 5. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

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An impromptu sidewalk memorial has been set up for Kelly Thomas, 37, a homeless schizophrenic man who died five days after a run-in with Fullerton police in early July at a bus depot off South Pomona Avenue. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Passersby stop to read notes left at a memorial for Kelly Thomas. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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A woman holds a drawing of a police officer behind bars as Ron Thomas asks the Fullerton City Council for answers about his son Kelly’s death. Residents packed the council chambers and an overflow area for the Aug. 2 meeting. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Fullerton resident Michelle Kearney hugs Ron Thomas, father of Kelly Thomas. Residents packed the City Council chambers and an overflow area to express their outrage over the police beating of Kelly Thomas, who later died. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Cathy Thomas, mother of Kelly Thomas, listens to public comment during the Fullerton City Council meeting. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Residents stand and applaud as Ron Thomas is given more time to speak to the City Council about the police beating and subsequent death of his son, Kelly Thomas, last month. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

By Adolfo Flores

Jan. 7, 2014 10:18 AM PT

The fate of two former Fullerton police officers charged in the death of a mentally ill homeless man could be in the jury’s hands by late Tuesday as attorneys complete closing arguments in the high-profile case.

Kelly Thomas, 37, died five days after a July 5, 2011 altercation with police, an incident that sparked outrage and led to sweeping changes in the college town.
Former officer Manuel Ramos is charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the incident, and Jay Cicinelli with involuntary manslaughter and excessive use of force.

While a 33-minute surveillance video of the incident, synced with audio recorders worn by officers, has been the centerpiece of the prosecution’s case, jurors will have to wrestle with the question of what caused Thomas’s death.

Prosecutors with the Orange County district attorney’s office maintain that Thomas was left brain-dead due to chest compressions and other injuries he suffered as police beat him with a baton and a stun gun.

Defense lawyers maintain that Thomas died from a weak heart caused by drug use, not the injuries he sustained in the beating.

One of the trial’s final witnesses, Dr. Matthew Budoff, program director of cardiology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, refuted the defense claim that Thomas died of heart failure.

After examining CT scans and X-rays, Budoff said he concluded that the homeless man was healthy enough that he could have lived into his 80s.

Dr. Steven Karch, a forensic pathologist who studies how drugs affect the heart, testified that Thomas’ past meth abuse had damaged his heart.

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adolfo.flores@latimes.com

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