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Attorney Says Reginald Thomas Was ‘Repeatedly Kicked and Beaten by Officers – Not Given Proper Medical Attention … ‘
News Oct 03, 2016
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By Terry Miller
A well-known attorney representing the family of a Pasadena man who died while in police custody last week said Monday that the man was repeatedly kicked and beaten by officers and was not given proper medical attention before he died.
Caree Harper, who also represented the McDade family some years also, now represents the Reginald Thomas’ family.
Scores of newspaper and television crews arrived outside Pasadena Police headquarters Monday at noon to cover the press conference Harper called. Harper said the police acted ‘inappropriately’ in this incident.
“Why couldn’t you give him time and de-escalate?” Harper asked.
“Just because Pasadena PD says we use less lethal force, does not mean they did not use excessive force. Hands on can be just as lethal as a bullet. A boot to the head can be just like a bullet to the head if you keep kicking a man when he is down. They should have let the man live.”
Harper was flanked by at least 25 Thomas’ family members, including many young children, who wore T-shirts that said “Justice for Reginald Thomas.”
Thomas was the father of eight children and had one on the way with his girlfriend Shainie Linsay.
Harper, who after naming all the family members present, said Thomas did not brandish the knife during the incident, but instead had it tucked underneath his armpit. He dropped it after being Tasered, she said.
Harper also added that after speaking to witnesses at the scene, she understands that officers “piled up on Thomas and one of them beat him with a baton.”
Harper claims it was not officers, but emergency responders who gave Thomas CPR after the incident. She added that, instead of being taken to a nearby hospital where life-saving measures could possibly have taken place, his body was left at the scene for hours.
“The children and his girlfriend had to go over his body – his lifeless body, to exit the unit,” Harper said.
“The fact that they let him die in that apartment is more than negligent it’s actionable, and it needs to be stopped, right now.”
The death sparked protests in Pasadena on Friday and into the weekend.
Police released an audio recording of one of the 911 calls made Friday morning, but the voice heard in the tape is of Thomas’ 15-year-old son, who was himself obviously “stressed” during the incident, Harper said.
