Vol. 80/No. 9 March 7, 2016
Calif. cop who killed Andrew
Thomas charged after protests
“It is a victory — so far,” said Gwen Nordgren of the Ridge Coalition for Peace and Justice in Paradise. “But we are not going to rest because we don’t want this to be swept under the rug.”
Feaster shot Thomas, 26, in the neck as he emerged from a car wreck Nov. 25, almost completely severing his spinal cord. Thomas died three weeks later. His wife, Darien Ehorn, 23, was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene. Feaster did nothing to aid her. He did not even tell other cops that he had fired his gun until 11 minutes after they arrived.
A police dashcam video that shocked viewers around the world shows Feaster walking by Ehorn, who is lying on the pavement, then pulling his gun and shooting Thomas. Ramsey initially refused to file charges against the cop, and instead planned to charge Thomas with drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter for Ehorn’s death.
Friends of Thomas rapidly organized protests demanding that Feaster be fired and charged. Nordgren is part of this loose coalition. “We do believe we influenced the outcome,” she said in a phone interview Feb. 19. “We’ll continue to pursue this. We’ll attend every court hearing. We’ll do everything we can to ensure justice in this case.”
After Feaster’s arrest, Thomas’ friends organized a pot luck celebration at a public park near both the police station and the street corner where the accident occurred.
Feaster was charged with involuntary manslaughter while armed with a firearm and released on his own recognizance. Ramsey said the shooting was accidental but Feaster was negligent for the act of pulling and discharging his pistol, since the cop was trained “to keep his finger off of the trigger until a conscious decision is made to fire the weapon.” The charges carry a total maximum sentence of five years in jail.
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