Remember the homeless man who was beaten to death by the police outside a restaurant in Fullerton, CA in 2010?  We reported on this case last November; of the three cops who caved in Kelly Thomas’ head and chest with their batons and fists, only two had to stand trial for second degree murder.  Yesterday, all three of them went free.

The defense attorney for one of the officers gave a statement saying that “These peace officers were doing their jobs…they did what they were trained to do.”

If “doing what they were trained to do” as a police officer includes beating a mentally ill homeless man to death in public and on video while he cries out and begs for someone to help him, then the problem is far greater than just those cops.

In the sequence, [police officer] Ramos is captured slipping on a pair of latex gloves and telling Thomas – shirtless and sitting on a street curb – “Now you see my fists? They’re getting ready to [f—] you up.” Thomas replies, “Start punching, dude.”

Protect and serve?  It sounds like Americans in Fullerton need to be protected from the cops.