I've also been beaten by the police. In 2002 I talked back to an officer when I was getting booked into jail on a minor offense and I was beaten by several officers. I was still in handcuffs and never once resisted or tried to fight back. I was thrown on the cement floor and put into a hogtie position and beaten over and over again. I couldn't breathe. Every time I tried to say something (if I could at all) the officers would beat me harder and tell me to stop resisting.
I really thought I was going to die. I didn't have time to pray. I didn't have time to think about anything other than my life was going to fucking end this way. I wasn't getting any air. Everything started going black. My vision began to tunnel. All of a sudden my probation officer told the other officers I had a heart condition and they all jumped off of me. I was lucky. My life was spared. Had I died, the jail would have told my family and the media that I was violent and that I was resisting. Nobody would have believed otherwise.
What is crazy is I was in jail for violating a restraining order my mom filed against me! Just like Kelly Thomas, my own mother filed charges against me and got a restraining order. I don't have the mental issues Kelly Thomas had. I'm not perfect. I do suffer from post traumatic stress disorder and some other things. But I got into an argument on the phone with my mom because she had a big house and I was homeless and she didn't give a shit if I was out on the streets in the middle of winter. It almost cost me my life.
But I violated the restraining order right? Yep, I sure did. My own mom wanted me to help her with her house she was getting ready to move out of. Yea, because I was so violent and she was so scared of me that she invited me to her house, right? Little did I know that an ex called my probation officer and told her I went to my mom's house just to be vindictive and that's how I got arrested in the first place.
Hearing Kelly Thomas screaming makes me so angry and scared. I picture him scared out of his mind. Those really were the last moments of his life. This isn't fair. These officers were all clearly in the wrong. They need to be charged with murder.
In 2010 I witnessed a police shooting. You can read about that here. I saw an unarmed man get shot multiple times. He ended up dying as well. That traumatized me. But this is worse. This could have happened to me. You don't have to be violent with the police to get beaten. Some cops get off on this and actually look forward to beating people up. Especially homeless people. Cops HATE the homeless for a variety of reasons. They really don't like dealing with the mentally ill. What better way to take out your frustrations than beating someone to a pulp when they can't even defend themselves?
Being homeless isn't a piece of cake, with or without mental problems. You always have to worry about the police. I believe you have to worry about the police more than anything else. Nothing else you can run into out there is more dangerous than an asshole with a badge and a gun. I'm more afraid of the police than any criminal I could run into. That is crazy. These are the men and women that are supposed to serve and protect.
This happens more often than you probably believe. Most of the time it doesn't make the news or it goes away quickly and quietly. This time it was different because Kelly Thomas had a family that cared and they want to fight back. This time it made national news. Something has to be done to put a stop to this violent behavior by the men in blue. Often the homeless don't have anyone standing up for them. Often the ones that die on the streets die alone and quietly. Thank God Kelly Thomas had his family. Still, they weren't there to save him that night.
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