Hundreds of protestors literally took to the streets in Fullerton on Saturday to protest the death of a homeless man.
A march was planned by ANSWER Los Angeles, an anti-war group and anti-racism group, to protest the death of Kelly Thomas, a homeless man with Schizophrenia, who died July 10 after landing in a coma five days earlier due to incurring injuries by police during an arrest at the Fullerton Transportation Center. The march was held in tandem with the weekly Saturday protests held at the Fullerton Police Department that began after Thomas's death and will continue weekly, according to Ron Thomas, the father of Kelly.
The march began during the protest, with protestors literally walking in the street from Commonwealth Avenue, down Harbor Boulevard and to the Fullerton Transportation Center where a short rally was held. Protestors then came back to the police department, where the protest continued.
All different walks of life were present at the protest, including fathers with children, the elderly and teenagers, among others. Notable figures also showed up, including Pastor Wiley Drake, the Buena Park pastor who first became known in the 1990s for housing the homeless at his church and ran into trouble with the city over it, which later led to a conviction over city property and safety codes.
Drake said that as a local pastor he has come to know many members of the Fullerton Police Department well and spoke kindly of a few officers who had driven the homeless to him and asked if they could spend the night instead of arresting them for illegal camping. However, Drake also heard stories from many homeless who dealt with the Fullerton Police and said that there was a pattern to their "stories," that he now sees adds up.
"Unfortunately, I didn't listen," Drake said.
The group Anonymous was also at the protest wearing their signature masks and carrying a sign that said, "We're not anti-police, we're anti-police brutality." Anonymous threatened to hack into Fullerton Police Department's Web site in early August and has been known to hack major Web sites such as NATO and also the BART Police Web site. One of the sign holders said that they have come to previous protests without their masks on.
Captain Dan Hughes of the Fullerton Police Department was out front during the protest and brought ice to put in the ice chest that held water for the crowd and was on hand during the entire protest. Hughes said as he stood on the police department lawn amongst colorful signs that read, "Laws are for us but why not the cops?" and "Justice for Kelly Thomas," that the majority of the crowd was not from Fullerton and have come from as far away as Apple Valley to participate. He also emphasized waiting for the investigations going on with the Orange County District Attorney's office and the FBI to finish before passing judgment.
"Whenever anyone dies at the hands of anyone else it's tragic," Hughes said. "And we're here to protect."
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