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

[kaen]

I wasn't there that night. Could this young man be disabled and buying drugs? Absolutely. Is policing in high drug areas dangerous? Yes, and i have relatives who police in these types of areas. One point I think is salient in this case is that the young man was walking away with his hands in his pockets causing the officers to think he may have drugs. Okay, if what the officers describe is true and accurate, then isn't there a way to not force a confrontation and wait a bit to see how the behavior develops?

 

[Jennifer17]

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.

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Yes. I think if they make the decision to shoot and kill him, that they should be able take just a little more time to make a diagnosis.But you still have not explained why those police did not stop and question the people that they thought he bought it from. They stopped and tried to question an impaired man and when he would not speak to them, they killed him. Where in your world is that the right thing to do?

 

[bluesneakers]

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.

They had no reason to bother him.


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[katydid23]

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Yes. I think if they make the decision to shoot and kill him, that they should be able take just a little more time to make a diagnosis.But you still have not explained why those police did not stop and question the people that they thought he bought it from. They stopped and tried to question an impaired man and when he would not speak to them, they killed him. Where in your world is that the right thing to do?

Did they 'make a decision' to shoot and kill him? Because it seems more like they were forced into a split second decision because Ezell was straddling one of the officers and grappling for the gun.

The way that you are describing it is incorrect. They did not kill him because he would not speak to them. He was killed because HE turned around and began an altercation. Once you begin a physical fight with a cop, you are asking for serious trouble.

Where in my world is that the right thing to do? In my world, it is right for officers to use the necessary force to protect themselves, if someone is trying to grab their weapon.

 

[katydid23]

They had no reason to bother him.


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I guess it depends upon if the police want to listen to the many requests from the locals and shipowners to clean up the area.

 

[Jennifer17]

Did they 'make a decision' to shoot and kill him? Because it seems more like they were forced into a split second decision because Ezell was straddling one of the officers and grappling for the gun.

The way that you are describing it is incorrect. They did not kill him because he would not speak to them. He was killed because HE turned around and began an altercation. Once you begin a physical fight with a cop, you are asking for serious trouble.

Where in my world is that the right thing to do? In my world, it is right for officers to use the necessary force to protect themselves, if someone is trying to grab their weapon.

So, this mentally and it looks to me, by his gait physically compromised, was able to spin around and overpower a trained police officer, an armed police officer? Come on, that is not credible.
And you are still avoiding the question about why they would not question the people that they observed selling to him.

 

[bluesneakers]

I guess it depends upon if the police want to listen to the many requests from the locals and shipowners to clean up the area.

Stopping him the way they did, for no reason, is the very definition of racial profiling.

Maybe you missed this?

Ezell Ford's shooting violated LAPD policy, police commission rules

 

[katydid23]

So, this mentally and it looks to me, by his gait physically compromised, was able to spin around and overpower a trained police officer, an armed police officer? Come on, that is not credible.
And you are still avoiding the question about why they would not question the people that they observed selling to him.

"They asked him to stop. Instead, he sped up his pace. They caught up with him in the driveway of a nearby house.

Wampler came up behind Ford, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, according to the DA's findings. The officer said he pulled back Ford's right shoulder to handcuff him. There was a struggle, with Ford and Wampler falling to the ground. Wampler said he felt Ford reaching for his gun and he yelled that to his partner. Both of them fired.

Ford was shot three times. One shot from Villegas hit Ford's upper front torso, and another struck him behind the arm. On the ground, Wampler reached around and used his backup weapon to fire the third shot, which struck Ford in the back. The gun was close enough to leave a muzzle mark on Ford's back, according to the L.A. County coroner’s autopsy.

The entire episode — from the moment Wampler and Villegas stepped out of the car, until the shots were fired — took 13 seconds, according to investigators.

http://www.scpr.org/news/2017/01/24/68404/district-attorney-officers-who-shot-ezell-ford-act/

Within 13 seconds they are supposed to know he has schizophrenia/Bipolar disorder?

And we don't know how many men were in 'the group' on the corner. But how do you expect 2 cops on foot to somehow detain a group of drug dealers/gang members on the corner?

How is it 'not credible' that a bipolar, ex-athlete, might be able to topple over a cop who was trying to cuff him? It happens more than you think.

 

[katydid23]

Stopping him the way they did, for no reason, is the very definition of racial profiling.

Maybe you missed this?

Ezell Ford's shooting violated LAPD policy, police commission rules

Nothing in there says it was racial profiling.

The Newton Division, where this happened , is 16% whites in the population. So how is this racial profiling?

 

[katydid23]

I wish I could cut and paste from the pdf, but EVERYTHING you'd want to know is in the 25 page DA formal report, explaining a minute by minute timeline of the incident.

http://www.scpr.org/news/2017/01/24/68404/district-attorney-officers-who-shot-ezell-ford-act/

scroll down to the very bottom of the article and there is the PDF for the report.

 

[Jennifer17]

But what was this man doing. Ok, two armed police are too scared to confront the 'gang' on the corner. They should have put their tails between their legs where they belonged and gone away, instead of chasing and killing an impaired man. What heroes. Not.

 

[katydid23]

But what was this man doing. Ok, two armed police are too scared to confront the 'gang' on the corner. They should have put their tails between their legs where they belonged and gone away, instead of chasing and killing an impaired man. What heroes. Not.

They did not plan to kill the man. He initiated the violence himself. Read the pdf I linked. When the cop tried to detain him, he turned, put both of his arms around the Asian officers waist, and slammed his head into the officers chest, forcing him backwards, almost to the ground...read the pdf, it explains it.

As for your description above, it makes no sense. On one hand, you are implying they should have tried to take on an entire gang at once, by themselves. Obviously they would need to use significant force to do so. Surely you wouldn't want that, right?

I dont understand all of this negativity about 2 cops on the gang/drug unit DOING THEIR JOB. Does it matter if one of the lawbreakers is bipolar? Does that mean he should be free to do as he pleases?

 

[katydid23]

Ezel was killed in 2014 in the Newton District of LA< a very rough area. He was shot a few days after Michael Brown. There were lots of protests after the shooting.

Protests amped up on the 1st anniversary, where they picketed the LA Court House, calling for the immediate arrest of the officers. The marched to the intersections and shut down a portion of the city leading to the government center.

On the 2nd anniversary of the shooting, they camped out at the Mayors office,and then took over a Community Council meeting. Freeways were shut down for an hour or so as well.


So how has this affected the Newton Division? Have all of the protests and sit-ins improved the safety of the area?

The shooting happened in 2014, when 2 officers in the drug/gang enforcement detail tried to stop someone they had seen leaving a group of drug dealers on the corner.

How is Newton Division doing in 2016?

Here's Where L.A.'s Biggest Crime Increases Are Happening

Crime is on the increase in Los Angeles. Violent crime was up 20.2 percent and and all crime was up 12.6 percent when 2015 is compared with 2014, according to Los Angeles Police Department data.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said gang crime has been particularly acute.


4. Newton. This is the notorious "Shootin' Newton" division south of downtown that includes Skid Row, the Fashion District, Pueblo Del Rio and South Park. It saw a 23.3 percent increase in crime January to January. Aggravated assault in the division was up a whopping 208.3 percent between 2014 and now.