OC Political

Fullerton Mayor Doug Chaffee responds to the acquittal verdict for the Fullerton officers tried in the death of Kelly Thomas:

Today, the jury has spoken and we respect the verdict.  I understand and appreciate how difficult this has been for the Thomas family. We appreciate not everyone may agree with the jury’s verdict.  But we trust that the community will respect the verdict and the juror’s decisions.

Over the course of the past two and a half years the City of Fullerton has taken the initiative to implement reforms to our police department so it can provide the best possible service to our community. As Fullerton’s new Mayor, I will continue to make certain those efforts continue.

Mayor Chaffee was elected in June of 2012 along with Greg Sebourn and Travis Kieger during the recall election that swept out trio Councilmembers Richard Jones, Pat McKinley and Don Bankhead out of office due to the Kelly Thomas beating and other issues that snarled the Fullerton Police Department.

Note:  Travis Kieger was unsuccessful in retaining his seat in November of 2012, which he was replaced by Jan Flory.