Kelly Thomas verdict: FBI to examine trial evidence, testimony

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A supporter falls to the ground crying at a memorial at “Kelly’s Corner” after two former Fullerton police officers were found not guilty of murder in the 2011 death of transient Kelly Thomas in Fullerton. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Kathy Thomas, mother of Kelly Thomas, receives a hug from a supporter in front of a memorial at “Kelly’s Corner.” (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Protesters march outside the Fullerton police station after two former officers were acquitted in the killing of Kelly Thomas. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Friends, family and supporters stand at “Kelly’s Corner” on Monday night after two former Fullerton police officers were found not guilty of the murder of Kelly Thomas. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Ron and Kathy Thomas embrace outside the Santa Ana Courthouse Monday after two Fullerton police officers were found not guilty in the murder of their son Kelly. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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As supporters hug, Kathy Thomas sits in a chair outside the Santa Ana Courthouse on Monday after two Fullerton police officers were found not guilty in the murder of her son Kelly. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Ron Thomas, the father of slain Kelly Thomas, hugs Marlena Carrillo outside the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana after the arraignment hearing. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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A supporter of Kelly’s Army pays his respects at the site in Fullerton where Kelly Thomas was involved in an altercation with police that led to his death. (Barbara Davidson / The Los Angeles Times)

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Members of Kelly’s Army chant “two down four to go” outside the Fullerton Police Department after two officers were charged in connection with the death of Kelly Thomas. Thomas, a schizophrenic, homeless man, died five days after an altercation with police. (Barbara Davidson / The Los Angeles Times)

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Charlotte Cianciola of Buena Park gets emotional as the District Attorney announces that criminal charges have been filed against two of the six Fullerton police officers involved in the beating death of Kelly Thomas. (GIna Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas at the news conference in Santa Ana where he announced charges would be brought against two Fullerton police officers in the death of Kelly Thomas. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Christine Walker, center, of Fullerton, joins a crowd outside the Santa Ana civic center watching a TV broadcast of Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas’ news conference. (GIna Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Staff members listen as their boss Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas addresses a press conference announcing charges against two Fullerton police officers for the beating death of 37-year-old homeless man Kelly Thomas. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Larry Dewitt Williams, 56, gathers with other supporters in front of the Orange County district attorney’s office to show support for Kelly Thomas’ family. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Ron Thomas embraces Susan Wright after she delivered an emotional plea to the Fullerton City Council for better treatment of the mentally ill. Thomas and hundreds of supporters attended the meeting hours after the release of the coroner’s report on the death of his son, Kelly, at the hands of Fullerton police. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Fullerton City Council member Sharon Quirk-Silva, left, and Fullerton resident Erin Lewis, right, comfort Cathy Thomas after the council voted to retain an outside investigator to look into the death of Thomas’ son, Kelly, after a confrontation with Fullerton police. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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Cathy Thomas visits a memorial for her son Kelly at the Fullerton Transportation Center. She stops there several times a week to water the flowers and talk to people who pass by. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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Fullerton Police Captain Kevin Hamilton, above, was named acting chief of police after Chief Michael Sellers went on medical leave in the wake of the death of Kelly Thomas in July. (Mark Boster/ Los Angeles Times)

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People outside the Fullerton police station protest the death of Kelly Thomas. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)

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Gary Tayles, 45, of Los Angeles joins a group outside the Fullerton police station protesting the death of Kelly Thomas. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)

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Cathy Thomas, left, shakes hands with Fullerton police officers who barricaded a street to make room for a demonstration protesting the beating and death of Kelly Thomas. (Alex Gallardo / Associated Press)

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Fullerton Police Chief Michael Sellers talks with the city attorney before a City Council meeting. Many residents have called for him to resign. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

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An overflow crowd watches a TV monitor outside City Council chambers as the public voices outrage over the death of Kelly Thomas, 37, a schizophrenic homeless man who was killed during an altercation with Fullerton police on July 5. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

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An impromptu sidewalk memorial has been set up for Kelly Thomas, 37, a homeless schizophrenic man who died five days after a run-in with Fullerton police in early July at a bus depot off South Pomona Avenue. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Passersby stop to read notes left at a memorial for Kelly Thomas. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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A woman holds a drawing of a police officer behind bars as Ron Thomas asks the Fullerton City Council for answers about his son Kelly’s death. Residents packed the council chambers and an overflow area for the Aug. 2 meeting. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Fullerton resident Michelle Kearney hugs Ron Thomas, father of Kelly Thomas. Residents packed the City Council chambers and an overflow area to express their outrage over the police beating of Kelly Thomas, who later died. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Cathy Thomas, mother of Kelly Thomas, listens to public comment during the Fullerton City Council meeting. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Residents stand and applaud as Ron Thomas is given more time to speak to the City Council about the police beating and subsequent death of his son, Kelly Thomas, last month. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

By Paloma Esquivel and Robert J. Lopez

Jan. 13, 2014 9:26 PM PT

The FBI said Monday that it would examine evidence in the Kelly Thomas police beating death trial to “see if further investigation is warranted.”

The bureau launched an investigation in 2011 to determine whether Thomas’ civil rights were violated when he was beaten by officers after being stopped for questioning at a Fullerton transit depot.

Thomas, a 37-year-old schizophrenic homeless man who was a fixture in downtown Fullerton, died five days after the July 5 confrontation.

“With the conclusion of the state court trial, investigators will examine the evidence and testimony to determine whether further investigation is warranted at the federal level,” FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller in Los Angeles said in a statement.

She declined to comment further.

Reactions ranged from rage to measured acceptance Monday after an Orange County jury found that two former Fullerton Police Department officers were not guilty of beating Thomas to death.

On Monday night, about 100 demonstrators gathered at the transit depot where the beating had taken place. Some held candles or waved signs that said “Justice for Kelly Thomas.” Some in the crowd wept quietly. Among those in attendance were Thomas’ parents, Ron and Cathy.

Demonstrators later moved to the Fullerton police station.

The three-week trial ended Monday with jurors rejecting second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter charges against Manuel Ramos and involuntary manslaughter and excessive force charges against Jay Cicinelli.

Both former police officers lowered their heads, and Cicinelli’s attorney, Mark Schwartz, pounded his fist on the table before hugging his client. Thomas’ family wept softly.

Cicinelli was ecstatic, Schwartz said.

“He was relieved, after 2 1/2 years of having this over your head,” Schwartz said. “We’re just going to have to take a deep breath and enjoy the moment.”

The jury reached its verdict after a day of deliberation.

The centerpiece of the prosecution’s case was a grainy black-and-white surveillance tape that captured the violent altercation. During closing arguments, Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas, who prosecuted the case, simply played the audio portion of the tape in which Thomas can be heard yelling for help.

While Rackauckas said the tape gave jurors a real-time sense of a homicide taking place, defense attorneys said the video showed that Thomas was the aggressor, fighting the officers so fiercely that they had to call for backup several times.

Defense attorneys said their clients should not be convicted for simply doing their jobs. Ramos’ attorney, John Barnett, told reporters: “These peace officers were doing their jobs.... They did what they were trained to do.”

It was a rare case for law-and-order Orange County, and the district attorney had staked his reputation on the outcome.

“I would do the same thing again,” Rackauckas said. “I think it’s a matter that a jury had to see.”

Twitter: @LAJourno

robert.lopez@latimes.com