OC DA Discusses Fullerton Beating Case
Host:
Subscribe to this Podcast:
Listen to/Watch entire show:
For the first time, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas has responded to a father's charges that his schizophrenic son was murdered. Six Fullerton police officers are on administrative leave and it's still unclear whether they will be charged. We talk with Rackauckas, the dead man's father, and authorities on police treatment of the mentally ill. Also, the local impact of today's widespread stock market decline. On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, the S&P downgrade: economics and politics.
Banner image: Justice for Kelly Thomas
Making News
Dow Jones Impact in Los Angeles? ()
The world is watching for the impact of history's first downgrading of the credit rating of the United States. How important is it? How worried should Americans be? The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 634 points today, a loss of 5.55 percent. The NASDAQ dropped 175 points, losing 6.9 percent. John Blank, Deputy Chief Economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, considers the impact in Southern California.
Guests:
- John Blank: Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp
Main Topic
OC DA Discusses Fullerton Beating Case ()
More than a month ago a 37-year-old, homeless schizophrenic was beaten by six Fullerton police officers. Kelly Thomas died after five days in a coma, and his father, Ron Thomas, has released pictures of Kelly's face and head, horribly disfigured. Public outrage continues. At a demonstration this weekend, several hundred people demanded justice, and two city council members have called on Police Chief Michael Sellers to step down. The officers are on paid leave, and the department has said only that Kelly resisted when police approached and tried to search his backpack. Today, for the first time, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas spoke out about the charge by Kelly's father that his son was murdered, first spoke with Dave Lopez of Channel 2 News and then with Which Way, L.A.?.
Guests:
- Tony Rackauckas: Orange County District Attorney, @OCDATony
- Ron Thomas: father of Kelly Thomas
- Stephen Marder: UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute
- Steve Pitman: National Association on Mental Illness
Links:
Main Topic
The S&P Downgrade: Economics and Politics ()
After a weekend of silence, President Obama addressed the S&P downgrade and the US economy this afternoon from a White House dining room. He said that the US will always be a AAA-country, and Standard and Poor's is the only ratings agency to downgrade its credit rating to AA+.
Guests:
- Daniel Gross: Yahoo Finance, @grossdm
- Zachary Karabell: President, River Twice Research
- James Galbraith: University of Texas, Austin
- Stephen Moore: Wall Street Journal
Links:
- Moody's on maintaining the US' AAA credit rating
- Fitch on US debt ceiling, deficit reduction
- Reinhart/Rogoff's 'This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly'
- Gross' 'Dumb Money: How Our Greatest Financial Minds Bankrupted the Nation'
- Karabell's 'Sustainable Excellence: The Future of Business in a Fast-Changing World'
- Galbraith's 'The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too'
- Moore's 'Government: America's #1 Growth Industry'
- Moore on the debt deal and Wall Street
Underwriters
Which Way L.A.? is made possible in part by the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, and the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, which supports study and research into policy issues of the Los Angeles region.
Engage & Discuss
Further the conversation with your thoughts and comments. Agree, disagree, present a different perspective -- engage.
For information and guidelines click: Terms of Service | Privacy Policy
Please note, comments are moderated. KCRW reserves the right to edit and or remove posts deemed off-topic, abusive or not in accordance with KCRW's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
