UCI Report: Thomas Died From Head Trauma

Kelly Thomas died from head trauma after suffering numerous fractures, including a broken nose, broken cheekbone and three broken ribs from police beating, his family's lawyer said Wednesday.

Attorney Garo Mardirossian and Thomas' father, Ron, at a packed news conference released medical reports they said prove that the 37-year-old Thomas was murdered by Fullerton, Calif., police, NBC News reported.

The records from the University of California, Irvine, Medical Center show Thomas suffered police Taser burns, one near his heart, Mardirossian said.

Thomas' family believes he was beaten numerous times in the head by one officer using the butt end of a police Taser gun, Mardirossian said.

The Orange County district attorney is investigating the July 5 beating witnessed by several bystanders as is the FBI and an independent investigator hired by the city, NBC News said.

The violent clash came as officers were investigating reports of someone burglarizing cars at a transit hub in suburban Fullerton, a city of about 135,000 in Orange County. A fight broke out as officers tried to search Thomas' backpack.

In citizen videos capturing audio of the attack, Thomas can be heard yelling for his father and that he couldn't breathe, Mardirossian said. The hospital report states Thomas suffered respiratory failure and eventually renal failure.

Thomas' family took him off life support July 10; he was considered brain dead upon arrival at the hospital, Mardirossian said.

The Orange County coroner has yet to release toxicology reports or an official cause of death.

No charges have yet been filed and police critics want to know why not.

Mardirossian said Wednesday that the bones on Thomas' face "didn't break easily. They took a tremendous amount of pounding," The Orange County Register newspaper reported.

Ron Thomas called his son's death "aggravated murder."

He told reporters, "I'm very emotional. I'm very broke up but I need to continue this mission."

Thomas' face and head injuries caused a "tremendous amount" of internal bleeding that caused Thomas to choke on his own blood, Mardirossian said.

There were no narcotics or prescription medications in Kelly Thomas' body at the time of the incident, Mardirossian said, calling into question a statement from an attorney for the officers that the transient had "violently struggled" with the officers.

Investigations are being needlessly drawn out because it's clear how Thomas died, Mardirossian said.

"It's as obvious as the noses on our faces," Mardirossian said.

Thomas' death sparked outrage in Fullerton and beyond, prompting two city council members and dozens of citizens to call on police Chief Michael Sellers to step down. He went on medical leave last month.

Ron Thomas has called for the resignation of city officials and demanded that authorities file criminal charges against at least some of the officers.

All six officers involved in the incident have been put on paid administrative leave.

Mardirossian said he doesn't believe all six officers physically beat Thomas but said they all share some degree of responsibility.

"Any one of them should have been able to bring him down," the lawyer said.

District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, in previous comments to the media, has not ruled out murder charges being filed against one or more of the officers, whose identities have been kept secret over concerns about their safety.

Rackauckas' office has also declined to make public a surveillance video that shows at least some of the altercation, citing concern that potential witnesses may be influenced by the footage.

Susan Kang Schroder, chief of staff for the Orange County District Attorney's office, said Wednesday it is impossible to draw any conclusions without the coroner's report.

"They're allowed to use force," Schroder said of police officers in general. "There's no question if there was force used. That doesn't answer the legal question of whether force was excessive or not."

Mardirossian has filed a claim on behalf of Thomas' parents with the city as a precursor to a civil lawsuit.

The claim alleges that officers "severely beat decedent Kelly Thomas with their fists and with objects and subjected decedent Kelly Thomas to excessive applications of Taser electricity." The claim also says Kelly Thomas was "subdued and restrained and represented no threat of harm to the Fullerton police officers," and that the officers' actions caused Thomas' death.

NBC News' George Lewis, The Orange County Register and The Associated Press contributed to this story.