Protests demand charges against Paradise cop

Militant/Betsey Stone

PARADISE, Calif. — Carrying signs demanding “Jail Feaster” and “Let a jury decide, not DA Ramsey,” protesters rallied here Dec. 26 demanding Paradise cop Patrick Feaster be charged for killing 26-year-old Andrew Thomas Nov. 25. Many local residents honked their horns in support as they drove by.

Feaster had tailed Thomas and his wife, Darien Ehorn, after they left a town bar. Their car hit a street divider and flipped over. Ehorn was thrown from the SUV and died at the scene. Feaster shot Thomas as he tried to climb out of the window of the wrecked car. He died in a hospital three weeks later.

A police video shows Feaster shoot Thomas, who was unarmed, and then, ignoring him and Ehorn, pull out his flashlight and look for the bullet casing.

Members of the Ridge Coalition for Peace and Justice and friends of Thomas met Jan. 3 to map plans to continue protests in the face of District Attorney Mike Ramsey’s refusal to charge Feaster.

“This is an injustice against our friend,” Ashley Seawright, who knew Thomas since she was 10, told the meeting. “We want Feaster fired and charged.”

Protests are set at the corner of Pearson Road and Black Olive Drive in Paradise for noon the next two Saturdays, Jan. 9 and 16.

— BETSEY STONE AND JEFF POWERS