Manuel Ramos, a police officer from Fullerton, California, has been accused of beating a homeless man suffering from schizophrenia at a bus stop in July, and the allegations have been backed up by his audio recorder, MSNBC is reporting. Officers in his department routinely use recorders to capture witness statements and exonerate officers accused of misconduct.
Ramos’ encounter with the homeless man, Kelly Thomas, was filmed on surveillance video as well. It wasn’t until police paired the images with Ramos’ recordings that they realized he shocked Thomas with a Taser, beat him with a stun gun and verbally antagonized him.
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackackas has said the fact that the beating was recorded is a turning point. “This encounter had changed from a fairly routine police detention into an impending beating at the hands of an angry police officer,” he said. The district attorney added that Ramos instilled in Thomas the fear that his life was in danger.
The recorders the officers use allow them to transfer the files onto a back-up server. The recorders don’t allow officers to edit files, and it shows if anything has been deleted.
John Barnett, Ramos’s attorney, has denied prosecutors’ accounts of his client’s interaction with Thomas. He added that Ramos used a subtle force to get the suspect to comply.
Written by: Karen Benardello
