LA - Unarmed mentally challenged man Ezell Ford shot by police during struggle

liljim

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http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/08/12/lapd-shooting-ezell-ford/13985607/

witnesses claim he was on the ground and compliant when shot 3 times in the back.

"The woman, who said her name is Tritobia Ford, told KTLA that her son was lying on the ground and complying with police commands when police shot him three times. She said police would give her no information about the shooting."

"The incident took place at about 8:20 p.m. Monday night as officers conducted an investigative stop, according to the LAPD statement. During that stop, "a struggle ensued" and this resulted in an "officer-involved shooting," according to the statement."
 
the LAPD statement says "officers were conducting an investigative stop", so presumably there was more than one officer on the scene.

even if he was not compliant as witnesses claim, it is a shame they could not control this man without resorting to shooting him.

no tasers i guess, he must have been pretty close to actually getting his hands on one of their guns...
 
the police version;

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-lapd-explains-officer-shooting-20140813-story.html

"When the two officers got out of their cruiser and began walking toward him on the sidewalk, Smith said Ford "whirled around and basically tackled the lead officer."
A struggle then ensued for the officer’s weapon, he added."

"The officer in the struggle was unable to get control of his regular weapon so he had to use his “backup weapon to shoot the suspect," Smith said, adding that the officer was on his back at the time."

will have to wait and see what else comes out, cant reconcile "on the ground, compliant, shot in back" with "officer on back, one gun apparently up for grabs, both officers firing"
 
LAPD officers who fatally shot Ezell Ford sue city, alleging racial discrimination

The two Los Angeles police officers who fatally shot Ezell Ford filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the city, alleging they are being kept on desk duty because of racial discrimination and retaliation by their superiors.

The officers contend that since they submitted complaints in August 2015 with state regulators contending racial discrimination, they have faced further retaliation, according to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
 
No charges against LAPD officers who shot and killed Ezell Ford, D.A. says

Los Angeles County prosecutors said Tuesday they will not criminally charge two Los Angeles police officers who shot and killed Ezell Ford during a clash near his South L.A. home in 2014, drawing the ire of activists who say LAPD officers are rarely held accountable when they use deadly force.

Standing near a portrait of her son, Tritobia Ford spoke to reporters at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon and sobbed as she expressed her dismay with that conclusion.

“The last bit of hope that we had is crushed,” she told reporters.“These officers are going scot-free. They’re getting away with murder. There’s no justice for Ezell.”

Ford, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, was walking near his South L.A. home when he was shot by Officers Sharlton Wampler and Antonio Villegas.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office has not charged a law enforcement officer in an on-duty shooting since 2000, records show. Lacey took office in 2012.

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L.A. City Council approves $1.5-million settlement in police killing of Ezell Ford

The Los Angeles City Council agreed Wednesday to pay $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of Ezell Ford, whose 2014 killing by LAPD officers became a local touchstone in the national outcry over police shootings.

It also adds to the growing financial fallout from deadly LAPD shootings. In December, the city agreed to pay more than $8 million to settle lawsuits stemming from the fatal shootings of three unarmed men. City officials cited costly police-related payouts when they recently decided to borrow money to help pay for legal settlements and explore ways to build trust between the LAPD and some residents.
 
Ezell Ford's shooting violated LAPD policy, police commission rules

Although Wampler may have been in a fight for his life, the commission decided he did not have a reason to stop and detain Ford in the first place. His handling of the encounter, the commission concluded, was so flawed that it led to the fatal confrontation.

The officers told investigators that when Ford would not stop to talk to them, they grew suspicious that he was in possession of drugs and was trying to discard them to avoid arrest. Beck wrote that the officers' suspicions were based on having seen Ford walking away from a group of gang members.

But in his report to the panel, Bustamante said the officers told investigators they never saw Ford interact with the group and that he was 20 or 30 feet away from them when the officers first saw him. No drugs were found on or near Ford, the report said.

The commission, in the end, concluded that Wampler's "decision to approach and physically contact the subject was an unjustified" departure from LAPD rules.
 
So, he was walking on the footpath. What drew the officers attention to him? Was he accused of a crime. It is not clear to me.

I don't think anyone knows for sure. They felt like it and they could. Then he made "suspicious movements" so they shot him. I don't understand how they made the move on him and he was able to so quickly get the upper hand: “As the first officer gets close, the suspect spins around and grabbed the officer around the waist, threw him to the ground and was laying on top of the officer,”

And then: "Ford "attempted to remove the officer's handgun from its holster."

He was ready and had the jump on them even though they were the ones who initiated the stop. It's not like he set a trap and was waiting for them. They make him sound like some kind of ninja.

If they're randomly stopping someone they think is a gang member shouldn't they be more prepared for something like that? (I'm not sure that's exactly how it happened though.)

The incident started when two officers with the Newton Division’s Gang Enforcement Detail confronted Ezell Ford during an “investigative stop” around 8:20 pm, according to Commander Andrew Smith. He did not know what precipitated the stop. Gang officers regularly approach people who they believe may be involved in gang activity.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2014/08/13/45968/lapd-fatal-shooting-police-say-man-grabbed-for-off/

^That article has a lot of information, and the wikipedia entry gives a good summary:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Ezell_Ford
 
So, he was walking on the footpath. What drew the officers attention to him? Was he accused of a crime. It is not clear to me.


Prosecutors concluded in a 28-page report that officers Antonio Villegas and Sharlton Wampler acted lawfully in self-defense and in defense of others.

Police and prosecutors said Villegas and Wampler approached Ford because he was acting suspiciously and may have been trying to discard an illegal substance.

A struggle ensued, and Ford was shot. The 25-year-old was taken to a hospital, where he died.

"The evidence indicates that Ford was on top of Wampler, struggling to obtain Wampler's primary service weapon and posing an immediate threat to his safety and his partner's safety," according to the report. "In fear for their lives, Villegas and Wampler each responded with deadly force."
http://abc7.com/news/no-criminal-charges-for-2-lapd-officers-in-ezell-ford-shooting/1718557/


In that area, there are a lot of crack/spice and drug deals happening on the foot trails. So when he looked to be dropping something and turning away, they went to see what was going on.
 
He would not speak to them? On another thread we have someone shot because she tried to speak to them and people claiming that you should not speak to or even make eye contact with them.

It seems any kind of interaction is a gamble.
 
Unlike Ferguson, where the officer was white, the Los Angeles shooting involved minority officers — Wampler is Asian and Villegas is Hispanic.
Ford was walking on a sidewalk in August when the officers spotted him. The Los Angeles commission's report said the officers decided to stop Ford because he appeared nervous and was walking away with his hands in his pockets.


Wampler thought Ford may have been hiding drugs and told him to stop so they could question him. The officers said Ford looked in their direction and walked away quickly with his hands in his waistband area.
They approached Ford, and Wampler tried to handcuff him. A struggled followed, and Ford knocked Wampler to the ground and grabbed for his weapon, according to the officers. Villegas fired two shots, and Wampler pulled out a backup gun and shot Ford in the back.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-improperly-fatal-shooting.html#ixzz4oNRvLEkc
 
Unlike Ferguson, where the officer was white, the Los Angeles shooting involved minority officers — Wampler is Asian and Villegas is Hispanic.
Ford was walking on a sidewalk in August when the officers spotted him. The Los Angeles commission's report said the officers decided to stop Ford because he appeared nervous and was walking away with his hands in his pockets.


Wampler thought Ford may have been hiding drugs and told him to stop so they could question him. The officers said Ford looked in their direction and walked away quickly with his hands in his waistband area.
They approached Ford, and Wampler tried to handcuff him. A struggled followed, and Ford knocked Wampler to the ground and grabbed for his weapon, according to the officers. Villegas fired two shots, and Wampler pulled out a backup gun and shot Ford in the back.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-improperly-fatal-shooting.html#ixzz4oNRvLEkc

This man was intellectually impaired. You can see that by the photos of him walking. Even if he had been buying some pot, did he deserve to be picked up for it? What about the huddle of people that they thought he was buying from? Were they confronted? It seems to me, that they picked the weakest link. Why didn't they question the ones whom they thought were selling?
 
This man was intellectually impaired. You can see that by the photos of him walking. Even if he had been buying some pot, did he deserve to be picked up for it? What about the huddle of people that they thought he was buying from? Were they confronted? It seems to me, that they picked the weakest link. Why didn't they question the ones whom they thought were selling?

They didn't question anyone else because that part of their story was a lie.

But in his report to the panel, Bustamante said the officers told investigators they never saw Ford interact with the group and that he was 20 or 30 feet away from them when the officers first saw him. No drugs were found on or near Ford, the report said.
 
They didn't question anyone else because that part of their story was a lie.

But in his report to the panel, Bustamante said the officers told investigators they never saw Ford interact with the group and that he was 20 or 30 feet away from them when the officers first saw him. No drugs were found on or near Ford, the report said.

So why would they try to stop and question him? He was probably scared of them and trying to not have to deal with them. Just mind his own business.
 
From a personal perspective, this story makes me petrified for my children, both of whom are not white. My oldest is typically developing. He has been held at the airport, followed in stores, and just generally profiled. My youngest has some special needs-- not easily identifiable special needs, as he is very, very like so low average it borders on MR. Things like words take a loonnnng time to sink in and might require repeating. He can appear defiant when he acts like others but he ramps his behavior to a 10+. He is easily overstimulated. Although he is still young, we talk about what happens if he is stopped and asked anything by police. We work to keep him close at hand as much as possible. But, I know he will eventually be on the street in the world without me one day. AND, it scares the daylights out of me.

Police need training in dealing with people with non-visible conditions. Police need to have a protocol for figuring out how to subdue without shooting.

These officers may have been cleared but the truth is that this young man lost his life for no reason. He was on the ground, hands behind his back with many saying he was being compliant. Adrenaline kicks in for all people which makes the issues of mental/cognitive illness strategies one that requires much training and police officer oversight. The days of a person with a disability being known by the local officers is gone. I am hoping something changes so my son does not end up as a thread on this forum.
 
This man was intellectually impaired. You can see that by the photos of him walking. Even if he had been buying some pot, did he deserve to be picked up for it? What about the huddle of people that they thought he was buying from? Were they confronted? It seems to me, that they picked the weakest link. Why didn't they question the ones whom they thought were selling?

A cop is supposed to make that diagnosis from 30 feet away in a few seconds? And even if he was impaired, is he not supposed to follow the drug laws?

And who said it was pot? The bigger problem is sales of meth/spice/ice/crack/junk.

Did it say that they thought he bought pot? Maybe they thought he was selling drugs, not buying them.

It is pretty much a catch22 for the cops in the inner city. The locals want them to 'clean up' the area--get rid of the pimps/working girls on the streets, get rid of the dealers on the corner, so the kids can go out and play and walk home from school etc.

And yet, there are complaints if they try and stop someone who appears to be involved in illegal drug sales.

The locals have won the argument though. Many of the street cops have stopped making those kinds of stops and engagements. Let's see how that works out for them.
 
Racial profiling.

I am not sure they were racial profiling at all. That specific area has a very high percentage of POC. They didn't stop every POC that walked down that path. So it was not racial profiling, in my opinion.
 

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