5 LAPD Officers Investigated for Killing Black Woman in Custody

A South Los Angeles woman who died in the custody of at least five Los Angeles police officers has brought about an investigation in the Los Angeles Police department.

Alesia Thomas is reported to have stopped breathing during a struggle with police officers who claim she was resisting arrest. One of the police officers is reported to have stomped on Thomas’ genital area and the officers are also reported to have used excessive force.

Los Angeles police Chief, Charlie Beck, released a statement on Thursday night assuring the public that  the death of the mother of two would be thoroughly investigated. In the statement, Beck said,

“I take all in-custody death investigations very seriously. I am confident we will get to the truth no matter where that leads us.”

Beck also said, in the statement, that before the officers were judged, it was important to find out if Thomas was on any drugs or if she had a medical condition that could have been the reason why she died.

The altercation, which took place in front of Thomas’ apartment, is reported to have been captured by a video camera in one of the patrol cars.

Speaking to The Times, LAPD Cmdr. Bob Green admitted that while they were struggling with Thomas, a female officer threatened to kick Thomas in the g******s and then followed through and actually kicked her.

The video clearly shows Thomas in the patrol car, struggling to draw breath and then stop breathing.

The Thomas case started on July 22 when Thomas dropped her two children off at the LAPD’s Southeast station. According to the police department’s records, Thomas left her 3-year-old and 12-year-old children at the station in an effort to surrender custody of them because she felt that being a drug addict made her unfit to care for them.

After the mother of two dropped off her children, police officers are reported to have gone to her home to question her and that was the beginning of the sequence of events that led to her death.

Two officers are reported to have been arresting Thomas on suspicion of child endangerment when she started struggling with them, while a third officer observed. Two more officers were called when Thomas put up a struggle.

There are varying accounts of what happened, leading up to the woman’s death. Green made no mention of the female officer kicking Thomas in her g******s and some neighbors who claim to have witnessed the assault also say they did not see her kick Thomas.

According to the police department records, when the officers realized that Thomas was not breathing, they immediately called the paramedics. Thomas died shortly after being taken to the hospital.