Despite efforts by Councilman Bruce Whitaker to press for the release of the video showing the beating death of Kelly Thomas to the City Council, they decided against any further action during Tuesday’s marathon meeting.
Whitaker asked for the item on the agenda, stating that it is the Council’s duty to “trust, but verify” the city-owned footage, but conceded that should the members opt to see it, it should be during a closed session.
“It’s up to me as an individual Council Member and I also believe it’s the responsibility of my fellow Council Members to seek information, to see it with your own eyes, to verify what representations are and to be able to then turn around and assert to the public and say ‘Yes, I do concur that this information is accurate and valid to the best of my ability,’” he said.
The councilman argued that many individuals from the Orange County District Attorney’s office to the six police officers involved in the beating death have seen the video and added that the City Council should also have that chance within the confines of a closed session.
He also cited the growing calls to clear Kelly’s name as a reason for him and the Council to have the opportunity to view the footage.
Richard D. Jones, the city attorney, said that while Council Members are not forbidden to see the video, if they choose to watch it, they are advised to do so under closed session and only as a personnel matter.
In a surprise move, Ron Thomas, the father of Kelly, asked that the Council not see the footage unless it absolutely helps seeks justice for his son due to concerns that it could jeopardize District Attorney Tony Rackauckas’ case against the two police officers charged with Kelly’s murder.
“I need to support everything Tony Rackauckas is telling me to do,” he told the Council. “He is a man that is trying to put these officers in prison for murdering my son.”
Councilman Don Bankhead agreed with Ron’s comments “100 percent,” stating that the very reason Ron did not want the tape released is the same reason he, Mayor Pro Tem Pat McKinley and Councilman F. Richard Jones “kept our mouth shut” in the days and weeks following Kelly’s murder.
“Everybody accused us of covering it up…and it didn’t make any difference when we said we were legally informed that if we went out and got involved with [Kelly’s Army] and embraced the things that were being said, it could possibly jeopardize the prosecution of officers if they are criminally charged,” he told Thomas.
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