Fullerton Council Approves Outside Probe

Fullerton - The man who monitors the L.A. County Sheriff's Department has been hired by Fullerton to conduct a review of its police force and of the circumstances surrounding the death of a mentally ill homeless man who had a violent encounter with six officers.

The Fullerton City Council's vote to hire Michael Gennaco came late Tuesday night during a raucous meeting in which public criticism of the council became so volatile that the mayor and several other council members briefly exited the meeting.

Gennaco oversees the Los Angeles County Office of Independent Review, which scrutinizes the activities of the sheriff's department on behalf of the Board of Supervisors and issues public reports on its findings.

Gennaco said the two Fullerton contracts will enable him to probe the in-custody beating death of Kelly Thomas in July and to conduct an in-depth review of the policies and practices of the Fullerton Police Department. He's expected to be paid between $50,000 and $70,000.

Also on Tuesday, Fullerton's acting police chief, Kevin Hamilton, ordered an internal affairs investigation into the October arrest of a man who was later acquitted of attacking an officer and resisting arrest.

Fullerton police Sgt. Andrew Goodrich confirmed that Hamilton ordered an internal affairs review of the Oct. 23 arrest of Veth Mam.

"Based upon the information that was brought to our attention over the last week, acting chief Hamilton has ordered an internal affairs investigation into the matter to determine what happened that evening in October 2010, and the court case this year," Goodrich said.

Goodrich could not confirm whether any officers involved in the Oct. 23 arrest of Mam were also involved in the July 5 arrest of Thomas.

Mam was acquitted July 7 of misdemeanor charges of battery on an officer and resisting arrest. His attorney David Borsari said the cellphone video Mam started taking of the incident led to his acquittal because it contradicted an officer's testimony.

Just after 2 a.m. July 5, Mam was walking to his car when he saw a friend being arrested by Fullerton police, Borsari said. Mam thought the police were using "excessive force," so he took out his cellphone camera to record the event, Borsari said.

One officer at the scene knocked the camera out of Mam's hand and another man picked it up and kept recording, Borsari said.

The Orange County District Attorney's Office is reviewing Thomas' death to determine if any laws were broken, and the FBI has a separate investigation to determine if his civil rights were violated.