By the time the bloodied, unconscious body of Thomas was delivered to a local hospital, doctors determined that he suffered multiple broken bones in his face, several cracked ribs and a crushed thorax. Physicians also figured Thomas to have choked on his own blood during the incident. After five days on life support, Thomas passed away.
Last year, Ron Thomas, father of the deceased, told CNN that he won’t settle for anything here except for complete justice for my son.” Despite the evidence that has Americans across the country accusing the Fullerton, CA cops of excessive force, however, reparation might not be easy to receive — attorneys for the defendants maintain that their clients were in the right.
In defense of Officer Ramos, attorney John Arnett asked a University of California, Irvine surgical trauma chief to take the stand and explain how physicians handled Thomas’ injuries. "The cause of death might be the treatment he got [at] the hospital?" Barnett asked Dr. Michael Lekawa.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Dr. Lekawa was originally concerned over a medical error on the hospital’s end, but all that changed once he saw the footage.
"They did everything right," Lekawa testified to the court in explaining the hospital’s handling of Thomas.
According to Reuters, Fullerton fire Captain Ron Stancyk, a paramedic that was called to the scene, tended to injuries incurred by the officers themselves upon arrival. Testifying in court this week, Stancyk says that none of the officers alerted him of Thomas, near death, when he arrived.
Updated, Wednesday May 9:
Judge Schwarz announce on Wednesday that there is enough evidence to bring the officers to trial. If Officer Ramos is convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 15 years-to-life in jail; Cicinelli could end up with as little as four years behind bars.
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