The recent death of Rodney King brought renewed attention to the issue of police brutality in California, but that's an issue that residents of Orange County were grappling with prior to King's death on June 17.

One incident that raised national concern involved Kelly Thomas, a mentally unstable man who died after being severely beaten by police in Fullerton. Bystanders got video of Thomas screaming out to the officers to stop and that he was unable to breathe, but the beating continued as he lay on the ground. According to the Orange County Register, following the incident, police in Orange County had to undergo training on how to deal with the mentally ill.

The Register reports that the video of the officers beating Kelly Thomas has become an example of what not to do in such a situation. Throughout the meetings on how to interact with the mentally ill, officers were guided on how to treat them, how to approach them and when to give citations. One of the officers told the source he found the meeting helpful.

"We try to strike a balance," Santa Ana Police officer Joe Hamlin said. "I've never done a class that in-depth."

Though the training is beneficial for police to understand how to handle situations involving mentally ill individuals, some Orange County residents are upset about how arrested individuals are being treated in general. Many residents have voiced their opinion that the arrests and violence by the police force in the county are racially driven, according to The Associated Press. Earlier this year, nearly 600 protesters gathered to speak out after 25-year-old Manuel Diaz was shot and killed by police officers in Anaheim.

Although the Anaheim Police Department said Diaz was shot because he was involved in a dispute, many people are upset because he was unarmed and say that he did not pose a threat to the officers who fired. Dana Douglas, a legal expert close to the Diaz family, told the AP that the community believes the shooting proves the county's department is racist.

"White kids in a rich white neighborhood don't get rousted by police and when they do, they don't have to fear the police. But that's not true with brown kids in a poor neighborhood," she said.

The police officers were not charged with anything following Diaz's death.