Monday, January 27, 2014
Arrest made in attack on woman outside Santa Ana club Santa Ana Police Department
A young writer who graduated last year from Chapman University was being kept on life support Monday, two days after she was beaten unconscious on the sidewalk outside a crowded Santa Ana nightspot.
Kim (Annie) Pham, 23, was being kept alive “because her wishes had always been to help others by being an organ donor,” her family said in a short statement. “We are still fighting for Kim. Stay strong.”
Police arrested one woman in connection with the weekend assault, and were searching for two other women and two men who they believe kicked and punched Pham in the head and body. They declined to identify the suspect, except to say she was in her 20s, from Santa Ana and arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.
Pham had been standing in line with friends early Saturday outside of The Crosby, a restaurant and bar that has become an anchor of Santa Ana's growing downtown night scene. Cpl. Anthony Bertagna of the Santa Ana Police Department said some kind of argument broke out in the line – he didn't know over what – and it escalated until Pham was beaten unconscious.
Pham graduated from Chapman University last year with a degree in psychology, according to her aunt, Nga Doan. In an online profile, Pham said she worked in her spare time to raise awareness and funds for the fight against breast cancer.
She was also a writer, with an essay – titled “Men Don't Talk About Their Feelings” – published in a 2011 anthology, “Pho for Life: A Melting Pot of Thoughts.”
The story was about her family and “the warmth of love,” she said in an interview for the book's release.
“When you start to really recognize everybody around you and that the world is bigger than you, you start to see that there's a lot of room for love in your life,” she said. “Just letting your walls down helps you see that.”
It was a somber gathering Monday evening in downtown Santa Ana as more than 100 of Pham's family and friends lit candles and placed flowers at a memorial.
There was no protesting, no outward display of anger – just a silent, tearful crowd who showed up to honor Pham, who was described as a “lovable person.”
Most of the people who gathered for the vigil declined to comment.
The Crosby was closed.
Police were reviewing surveillance videos from businesses in the area that captured the assault on Pham, as well as several cellphone videos, Bertagna said. Witnesses have also volunteered to come in and talk to detectives, he said.
One video clip posted online appears to show people wrestling and kicking a figure on the ground as a small crowd watches and one person crouches to get a cellphone video. A security guard wades into the melee, apparently in an attempt to intervene.
A man who posted that video, but asked not to be named, said Pham was a friend. He said she seemed fine when he saw her outside of The Crosby about 30 minutes before the attack. He was inside the club when the assault happened shortly before 12:30 a.m. on Saturday
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Santa Ana nightclub beating woman's death Annie Kim Pham SANTA ANA
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Tuesday morning, Armando Sorria, 47, left, and Autumn Martinez, 32, tidy up the sidewalk memorial for beating victim Kim (Annie) Pham, 23, rearranging the hundreds of flowers and candles left. Pham is being kept on life support, her family said, because it was her wish to be an organ donor. Sorria frequents the area and said his sadness was redirected into helping with the memorial.
Martinez, who studies criminal justice at nearby Everest College, said of Pham, "She's just as young as me. It's really sad. I just want to show my respect and I'm saying a prayer for her."
The victim was waiting in line to get into a popular nightspot that attracts people who crave old-school hip-hop and $15 hamburgers, where the floor is cleared late at night so customers can dance.Far from a seedy dive bar, The Crosby, at Fourth Street and Broadway, is an anchor of the city's growing downtown night scene – what one local business owner and resident calls “a place for people to love and hang out.”
Now, The Crosby, operating since 2008 in an area not known recently for a high crime rate, is linked to the savage beating of a young woman whose assault early Saturday morning – in front of dozens of people lined up outside the venue – is being pieced together by Santa Ana police.
Kim “Annie” Pham, 23, of Westminster was declared dead Tuesday at 12:36 p.m., according to the Santa Ana Police Department. She had been on life support, in the hope that her organs could be donated, according to a family statement.
A woman believed to be in her 20s has been arrested in connection with the incident. Her name has not been released by police, who are searching for two other women and two men who they believe kicked and punched the 5-foot-1, 115-pound Pham in the head and body.
Police also hope to find more cellphone video and surveillance footage from area businesses.
A video of the incident posted online shows people wrestling and kicking a figure on the ground as a small crowd looks on. One person crouches nearby to get cellphone video, and a security guard wades into the melee, apparently trying to intervene. Police are hoping other video will show events, such as an argument, that might have led to the incident, said Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.
Bertagna said detectives are hoping people who were with the female suspect will tell their side of the story. Fourteen Santa Ana police officers responded to the scene before they called in detectives to investigate.
VIVACIOUS, SMART
People who knew Pham, a 2008 graduate of Marina High School in Huntington Beach who studied psychology at Chapman University, describe a vivacious woman who loved to write and who dabbled in modeling and acting.
On her Facebook page, Pham described herself as “analytical,” “truthful” and “big-hearted.”
She talks about her love of her family and friends and how she doesn't try to impress anyone but herself and her “main squeeze – my pops.”
Carol Brodbeck, a psychology professor at Chapman, where Pham also worked for student-run Panthervision TV, described her as well-liked.
“She wrote with passion and wisdom beyond her years,” Brodbeck said. “Annie ... will be missed dearly by the Chapman community.”
Ed Dana, who has been teaching psychology at Chapman for more than 20 years, said he taught Pham in four classes and considers her a friend.
Now, The Crosby, operating since 2008 in an area not known recently for a high crime rate, is linked to the savage beating of a young woman whose assault early Saturday morning – in front of dozens of people lined up outside the venue – is being pieced together by Santa Ana police.
Kim “Annie” Pham, 23, of Westminster was declared dead Tuesday at 12:36 p.m., according to the Santa Ana Police Department. She had been on life support, in the hope that her organs could be donated, according to a family statement.
A woman believed to be in her 20s has been arrested in connection with the incident. Her name has not been released by police, who are searching for two other women and two men who they believe kicked and punched the 5-foot-1, 115-pound Pham in the head and body.
Police also hope to find more cellphone video and surveillance footage from area businesses.
A video of the incident posted online shows people wrestling and kicking a figure on the ground as a small crowd looks on. One person crouches nearby to get cellphone video, and a security guard wades into the melee, apparently trying to intervene. Police are hoping other video will show events, such as an argument, that might have led to the incident, said Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.
Bertagna said detectives are hoping people who were with the female suspect will tell their side of the story. Fourteen Santa Ana police officers responded to the scene before they called in detectives to investigate.
VIVACIOUS, SMART
People who knew Pham, a 2008 graduate of Marina High School in Huntington Beach who studied psychology at Chapman University, describe a vivacious woman who loved to write and who dabbled in modeling and acting.
On her Facebook page, Pham described herself as “analytical,” “truthful” and “big-hearted.”
She talks about her love of her family and friends and how she doesn't try to impress anyone but herself and her “main squeeze – my pops.”
Carol Brodbeck, a psychology professor at Chapman, where Pham also worked for student-run Panthervision TV, described her as well-liked.
“She wrote with passion and wisdom beyond her years,” Brodbeck said. “Annie ... will be missed dearly by the Chapman community.”
Ed Dana, who has been teaching psychology at Chapman for more than 20 years, said he taught Pham in four classes and considers her a friend.
Friday, January 17, 2014
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Wednesday, January 15, 2014
jury acquitted Fullerton police officers Manuel Ramos of second-degree murder manslaughter and Jay Cicinelli of excessive force and involuntary manslaughter
File photos of Manuel Ramos and Jay Cicinelli in court.
Two former Fullerton police officers were found not guilty on all charges Monday afternoon in the death of Kelly Thomas, a schizophrenic man they beat into unconsciousness as he cried out for help on a summer night more than two years ago.
The Orange County jury's swift verdict came after just two days of deliberations, ending a case that generated national debate about how police deal with the mentally ill and homeless.
Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas staked his name on the prosecution, arguing the case himself in court. Rackauckas said the trial was fair.
"I would do the same thing again," he said. "I think it's a matter that a jury had to see."
Thomas' family quietly sobbed as the verdict was read. His mother emerged from the courtroom with red-rimmed eyes. "They murdered my son and they got away with it," she said.
Video of the clash at a busy bus depot ignited public outrage. But during the trial, prosecutors and defense attorneys offered wholly different interpretations of the video. Rackauckas said the officers beat a helpless man, while the officers' attorneys said the lawmen were just doing their job.
The jury acquitted Manuel Ramos of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter and Jay Cicinelli of excessive force and involuntary manslaughter.
As the foreman read the verdict, Cicinelli hugged his attorney, who slammed his hand on the defense table and exulted, "Thank God!"
The case was the first in the county's history in which an officer faced murder charges for actions taken on duty. But jurors agreed with defense attorneys that the officers were trying to subdue an unruly suspect, not beat him to death.
"They did what they were trained to do," said John Barnett, Ramos' attorney.
Jurors were quickly escorted from the courtroom by bailiffs and left the courthouse without commenting on the widely watched case.
Ron Thomas, Kelly's father and a former deputy himself, said he hoped that the U.S. Justice Department would file federal charges against the officers. The FBI had been investigating and monitoring the case.
"I've never seen something so bad happen to a human being, and have it done by on-duty police officers," Thomas said. "And they can walk away scot-free."
Laura Eimiller, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Los Angeles field office, said the agency opened a civil rights investigation into the case in 2011. Now that the state court trial has concluded, she said, "investigators will examine the evidence and testimony to determine if further investigation is warranted at the federal level."
Veteran attorneys said murder cases against police officers are inherently difficult because the law allows them to use deadly force as part of the job. Prosecutors had to prove the officers had the intent to harm Thomas above and beyond responding to his actions.
"Police officers have the privilege, the right to use force to overcome resistance," said Ira Salzman, a defense attorney who often represents police officers. "When you have the law allowing use of force, that is a tremendous protection."
Michael Rains, who represented Bay Area transit officer Johannes Mehserle in his homicide trial for shooting an unarmed man at an Oakland train station, said courts have decided that officers need to be given "a certain amount of deference" for having to make use-of-force decisions in tense, rapidly unfolding situations.
"The courts recognize that on occasion, when officers are trying to do the right thing, there will be death," said Rains, whose firm was involved in Cicinelli's defense.
The verdict came after nearly three weeks of testimony from 25 witnesses in a often-packed Santa Ana courtroom. At the heart of the trial was the 33-minute surveillance video, synced with audio from recorders worn by officers. Without it, Rackauckas said he probably would not have filed charges.
He argued it was an obvious depiction of excessive force and told jurors they were watching a homicide
: http://ktla.com/2014/01/13/verdict-reached-in-trial-of-ex-officers-in-kelly-thomas-death/#ixzz2qWukHN5yOrange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas staked his name on the prosecution, arguing the case himself in court. Rackauckas said the trial was fair.
"I would do the same thing again," he said. "I think it's a matter that a jury had to see."
Thomas' family quietly sobbed as the verdict was read. His mother emerged from the courtroom with red-rimmed eyes. "They murdered my son and they got away with it," she said.
Video of the clash at a busy bus depot ignited public outrage. But during the trial, prosecutors and defense attorneys offered wholly different interpretations of the video. Rackauckas said the officers beat a helpless man, while the officers' attorneys said the lawmen were just doing their job.
The jury acquitted Manuel Ramos of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter and Jay Cicinelli of excessive force and involuntary manslaughter.
As the foreman read the verdict, Cicinelli hugged his attorney, who slammed his hand on the defense table and exulted, "Thank God!"
The case was the first in the county's history in which an officer faced murder charges for actions taken on duty. But jurors agreed with defense attorneys that the officers were trying to subdue an unruly suspect, not beat him to death.
"They did what they were trained to do," said John Barnett, Ramos' attorney.
Jurors were quickly escorted from the courtroom by bailiffs and left the courthouse without commenting on the widely watched case.
Ron Thomas, Kelly's father and a former deputy himself, said he hoped that the U.S. Justice Department would file federal charges against the officers. The FBI had been investigating and monitoring the case.
"I've never seen something so bad happen to a human being, and have it done by on-duty police officers," Thomas said. "And they can walk away scot-free."
Laura Eimiller, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Los Angeles field office, said the agency opened a civil rights investigation into the case in 2011. Now that the state court trial has concluded, she said, "investigators will examine the evidence and testimony to determine if further investigation is warranted at the federal level."
Veteran attorneys said murder cases against police officers are inherently difficult because the law allows them to use deadly force as part of the job. Prosecutors had to prove the officers had the intent to harm Thomas above and beyond responding to his actions.
"Police officers have the privilege, the right to use force to overcome resistance," said Ira Salzman, a defense attorney who often represents police officers. "When you have the law allowing use of force, that is a tremendous protection."
Michael Rains, who represented Bay Area transit officer Johannes Mehserle in his homicide trial for shooting an unarmed man at an Oakland train station, said courts have decided that officers need to be given "a certain amount of deference" for having to make use-of-force decisions in tense, rapidly unfolding situations.
"The courts recognize that on occasion, when officers are trying to do the right thing, there will be death," said Rains, whose firm was involved in Cicinelli's defense.
The verdict came after nearly three weeks of testimony from 25 witnesses in a often-packed Santa Ana courtroom. At the heart of the trial was the 33-minute surveillance video, synced with audio from recorders worn by officers. Without it, Rackauckas said he probably would not have filed charges.
He argued it was an obvious depiction of excessive force and told jurors they were watching a homicide
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-0114-kelly-thomas-verdict-20140114,0,6482344.story#ixzz2qWtD5dDV
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