Fullerton, Calif. (AP) - After nearly two decades, driven to madness when his son, Ron Thomas is worried about the day of the schizophrenic 37 years, would die of exposure or disease in the streets. He never imagined the end would be a violent confrontation with police.
Died last month at the end of the trajectory that began when Thomas Kelly, was in his 20 years and has begun to show signs of what would later be diagnosed as schizophrenic turns back and forth, prefer to sleep on the floor and stood in the shower.
In treatment, Thomas did well and managed to keep a job - but when he stopped taking his pills, disappeared into the street. He has accumulated a series of public urination charges to assault with a deadly weapon, and alarmed his parents with his strange behavior.
"My daughter and I talked about for years, that I could call that something had happened to him, if it comes from organ failure because they do not drink enough fluids, or parts, or maybe the gang activity," said his father, Ronald Thomas.
Last month, he sat on the bench Fullerton Transportation Center, the central bus and train, where the homeless congregate, when six police officers arrived to investigate reports of a man robbed cars in the neighborhood. Police said they ran when they tried to search his backpack and that he resisted arrest.
The case has grabbed a passerby with a cell phone, and the tape control of the bus was released on Monday showed discomfort witnesses described how to use the stun officials to win Thomas and shouted repeatedly, like his father.
It is a video phone, you can hear a man screaming fast clicking sound on the band stand out from the stun gun will be introduced.
homas was taken off life support five days after the controversial July 5. His father said Wednesday he was shocked when he learned the police have caused serious his son's head and neck injuries.
"When I arrived at the hospital to see him, I honestly thought Gang Bangers got a hold of him and sometimes loose and just hit him with a baseball bat in the face," he said. "Immediately my thoughts were for the police ... and I learned Fullerton few hours later, the truth. This put me in absolute shock."
A spokesman for the police, Sgt. Andrew Goodrich, said the case was an isolated incident.
"We have a department full of good people good," he said. "We have made over half a million contacts law enforcement over the past 4.5 years ... It is the only case of this kind has happened. "
Goodrich said that personnel receive training on how to handle mentally ill and homeless. But the lawyer representing the Department, Michael D. Schwartz said that "the general perception of officers trying to control combative, resistive suspect rarely corresponds to the official training, experience and what they experienced officers at the time or reality."
The revelations have caused a growing anger in this quiet university town. More than 70 people spoke at the meeting of the City Council on Wednesday, and the woman city council has demanded the resignation of police chief. Father of Thomas and others were planning a protest outside the police station this weekend, as much as one week.
"My son needs a voice," he said. "Now people are the voice of Kelly, and, yes, I'm leading the charge."
Thomas Kelly was an outgoing child who loved to play guitar, has participated in the Scouts and Cubs and aspired to be a forest firefighter, said his father, who raised him alone after he and Thomas's mother divorced.
After her diagnosis, she went to live in a facility that provides meals and monitor his medication, his father said. Thomas was able to keep a job at a gas station and a printing facility and training even began with the California Department of Forestry and protection.
But every time I began to heal, he stopped his medication and ended up moving back to the streets of Yorba Linda, Piacenza, Fullerton and Cypress - everywhere, where she lived or who had friends and relatives. One of the hardest parts of his death is a process for their child, described as homeless, the father said.
"This is the painful part for us all. We all have ideas of what we would like our children to be like and what to do in life. With Kelly, I could not do this and 's is always our heart," said his father ". Kelly was not homeless at all, so many houses, but I wanted to be a tramp and he did."
Life on the street leading to the prosecutor.
He pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm in 1995 and since 2004 has had a number of arrests for a variety of misdemeanors, like public urination, trespassing, battery, illegal camping, theft and vandalism. He has accumulated traffic violations for Jaywalking and do not obey traffic signals.
His mother requested a restraining order against him in December 2010 after refusing to leave his Front Porch, took her clothes and urinated at the door, according to court documents. In the same court documents, said his mother that Thomas grabbed her by the throat when they shared an apartment, even if it was not known when the incident occurred.
The family said they wanted to try to make a treatment that his uncontrollable behavior.
Players on the day, passers-by, said Thomas approached the two officers and ran toward them. Bus video surveillance showed the witnesses speak of confrontation between the bus driver stopped minutes later.
In the grain, black and white video, a woman who looks annoyed, said: "The police are beating this poor there ... That's almost half dead .."
A male witness said the man, identified as Thomas sat on a bench when he was approached by two officers and ran from them. Man says police used a stun gun on Thomas six times.
"They took him to beat his face, her face against the pound the pavement ... and they beat him," he said. "They beat, and then all the cops came and hogtied him, and he was like," Good God! Being a good father! "
The Police Department presented the study to the District Attorney's office and placed on paid administrative six police officers involved in the assault. The FBI also launched an investigation into whether the officers violated the civil rights of Thomas in the incident.
People with untreated mental illness make up about one third of the nation's 600 000 homeless, said Kristina Ragosta, legislation and policies to advise Advocacy Treatment Center.
More must be done by the police to train officers in how to recognize symptoms and treat people with mental illness, says Elaine Deck, program manager for the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
Sometimes, the officer is not trained can make it worse, he said.
'I put the handcuffs can increase the behavior in which the agent may think they are trying to calm the person, "said Puente. "They may not know this can really enhance a response."
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Associated Press writers Amy taxin in Tustin and Thomas Watkins in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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