XPost: alt.fan.sean-hannity, talk.politics.misc, alt.politics.democrats   
   From: hip.o@latimes.com   
      
   A jury found a white Los Angeles police officer guilty on Friday   
   of assault for kicking and shoving a handcuffed black woman who   
   was in the back of a patrol car and later died after complaining   
   that she could not breathe.   
      
   Officer Mary O'Callaghan had been charged with assault under   
   color of authority but not with the subsequent death of 35-year-   
   old Alesia Thomas, who was being arrested for child abandonment   
   when she lost consciousness in the vehicle in July 2012.   
      
   O'Callaghan, 50, was taken into custody and faces up to three   
   years in prison when she is sentenced on July 23.   
      
   The coroner's office determined acute cocaine intoxication   
   played a major role in Thomas' death.   
      
   The trial follows a series of fatal police confrontations across   
   the United States that have sparked demonstrations and put law   
   enforcement agencies under scrutiny over the use of force,   
   particularly against minorities and the mentality ill.   
      
   "The verdict proves the criminal justice system works," Los   
   Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey, who is black, said in a   
   statement.   
      
   During the trial, a prosecutor showed jurors video from the   
   patrol car and said it proved O'Callaghan used excessive force   
   when she shoved Thomas in the throat and kicked her in the groin   
   and stomach during the arrest.   
      
   In the video, O'Callaghan used a crude expression to threaten to   
   kick Thomas, who was turned with her feet toward O'Callaghan at   
   the door of the car and could be heard saying "I can't breathe"   
   before losing consciousness minutes later.   
      
   Thomas' family welcomed the verdict. "This is another step in   
   the continued struggle to obtain full justice for her children,"   
   they said in a statement.   
      
   Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said in a statement he   
   appreciated his partnership with prosecutors "to ensure that   
   officers who operate outside of the law and tarnish our badge   
   are held accountable."   
      
   O'Callaghan's attorney, Robert Rico, told reporters he planned   
   to appeal and seek a sentence of probation. He added his client   
   was remorseful, but not for using force which she thought was   
   justified.   
      
   "What she is remorseful about was the last words Ms. Thomas   
   heard were her (O'Callaghan's) own words and as a mother that's   
   been weighing on her heavily," Rico said.   
      
   http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/05/us-usa-police-   
   losangeles-idUSKBN0OL2CX20150605   
       
      
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