3rd Calif. officer charged in homeless man death

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A third California officer has been charged in the beating death of a mentally ill homeless man after a violent confrontation with Fullerton police.

Orange County prosecutors said former officer Joseph Wolfe was arraigned Thursday on one felony count of involuntary manslaughter and one felony count of the use of excessive force.

A district attorney spokeswoman said Wolfe pleaded not guilty and surrendered on $25,000 bail. Prosecutors said Wolfe was indicted by a grand jury on Monday. Wolfe is one of six officers involved in a violent clash between police and 37-year-old Kelly Thomas in July 2011 during an investigation into a report that he was trying car doors at a Fullerton transit hub. Thomas died five days later. The attack was captured on surveillance video and officers’ audio recorders and stoked protests by residents, the recall of three councilmembers and an FBI investigation.

Prosecutors last year charged former Fullerton police officer Manuel Ramos with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter and former Fullerton Cpl. Jay Cicinelli with involuntary manslaughter and assault or battery by a public officer in Thomas’ death. Both have pleaded not guilty.

Since then, several of Thomas’ supporters have urged Orange County prosecutors to also charge Wolfe, who is seen on the video swinging his baton at Thomas’ leg.

Prosecutors did not initially charge Wolfe, whose employment at the Fullerton police department — along with that of Ramos and Cicinelli — was terminated earlier this year.