Who was Ezell Ford?

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Ezell Earl Ford (October 14, 1988– August 11, 2014) was the oldest of seven children. His parents said in August 2014 they had been living in the same neighborhood for 15 years. Ford attended 66th Street Elementary, Marcus Garvey Elementary, Bethune Middle School, and Verbum Dei High School, which he left before completing a full term. As a child he played basketball, and wanted to play professionally and to study medicine. In his youth Ford suffered from asthma and difficulty breathing. 

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In September 2007 Ford was arrested on felony charges of carrying a loaded firearm and possession of marijuana with intent to sell. He argued the marijuana was for personal use, and in January 2008 the charge was reduced to a misdemeanor, for which he paid a small fine. He pleaded guilty to the firearm charge and was sentenced to 90 days in jail. In 2008 Ford was shot in the leg in a gang-related incident. A neighbor said that Ford was an innocent bystander in the shooting, and that his mental illness became more evident from then on. Ford also had a prior conviction for trespassing. 

After his death his parents said their son had been diagnosed with depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and that everybody in the neighborhood, as well as police, were aware of this.[14] They recalled that Ford had become more introverted and melancholier around the age of 18 and took medication that made him less active. 

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Ashanti Harrison, a neighbor, said he had grown up with Ford, who "did not bother nobody. He was kind of slow. The whole neighborhood took care of him." Harrison also described Ford as having "the mental capacity of an 8-year-old", while another neighbor said, "He had a mind of a 10-year-old". Another neighbor said while Ford "wasn't all there, he was there enough to follow orders and know to stop when the police tell him to stop. "Leroy Hill, who described himself as an eyewitness to the shooting, and Harrison both said Ford was not involved in gangs. A neighbor said the officers who shot Ford had harassed him in the past, including the day before the shooting. 

 

What happened to him?

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LAPD accounts of shooting: 

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According to LAPD commander Andy Smith in August 2014, Sharlton Wampler and Antonio Villegas saw Ford walking on the sidewalk at 65th Street and left their vehicle. Wampler said he knew Ford but did not recognize him at the time. The two officers confronted Ford as part of an "investigative stop" at around 8:20 p.m. They told investigators that though they carried a Taser in the patrol car, neither took it out, and Villegas instead drew his gun. Villegas said he believed Ford may have been armed because he was in "a gang area". Villegas soon put the gun away and repositioned himself as the "cover" officer while Wampler approached Ford. According to LAPD chief at the time, Charlie Beck, Wampler and Villegas told detectives Ford concealed his hands as they attempted to stop him. According to Beck's account the officers then followed Ford to a driveway where he crouched between a car and some bushes. Wampler and Villegas said they believed Ford was trying to dispose of drugs that were in his possession, which Wampler felt was sufficient evidence to arrest him. No drugs were found in the vicinity, however. 

Smith said as they were walking towards him Ford "whirled around and basically attacked the lead officer." Wampler told investigators he had approached Ford from behind and pulled back his shoulder with the intention of handcuffing him. The officers and an LAPD spokesman said in August 2014 that Ford had "tackled" one of the officers and that a struggle ensued after Ford tried to remove the officer's handgun from its holster. Smith said Ford "grabbed the officer around the waist, threw him to the ground and was laying on top of the officer" when he was shot. In LAPD chief Beck's account, Wampler and Villegas told detectives that Ford had been on top of one of the officers and reaching for the officer's gun when they both opened fire. Wampler told investigators he had been tackled by Ford and had landed on top of Ford, but Ford rolled over immediately and took the top position. Villegas responded by pushing his knee into Ford's back and attempting to handcuff him. Wampler said he then felt Ford grasping at his holstered pistol. Villegas said he feared for his life and that of his partner and shot Ford in the arm, then at Wampler's urging fired a second round into Ford's side. Wampler said Ford continued to resist, causing him to retrieve his backup gun and used it to reach around Ford and shoot him in the back. Smith said Ford had been on the ground when he was shot and said "This was an extremely rapidly unfolding event. Basically, the fight was on."  

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After the shooting, Wampler handcuffed Ford. Wampler told investigators a crowd appeared, including one man who appeared angry but left after Wampler pointed his gun at him. Thirteen seconds elapsed from the time that Wampler and Villegas left their vehicle to the first shot. LAPD lieutenant Ellis Imaizumi said the officers sustained minor abrasions that did not require hospitalization. An LAPD news release said neither had been injured. Smith said Ford had been unarmed. 

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Witness accounts of shooting: 

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Two witnesses disputed the officers' claim that Ford had concealed his hands and said that he had raised his hands as the officers left their vehicle. They also said that Ford did not tackle an officer and was instead tackled to the ground by one of the officers. Tritobia Ford said her son was lying on the ground and complying with officers' orders when he was shot. Other family members supported her account, including a man who identified himself as Ford's cousin and said: “They laid him out and for whatever reason, they shot him in the back, knowing mentally, he has complications. Every officer in this area, from the Newton Division, knows that — that this child has mental problems. The excessive force ... there was no purpose for it. The multiple shootings in the back while he's laying down? No. Then when the mom comes, they don't try to console her ... they pull the billy clubs out." 

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Harrison, who said he saw the shooting from a second-story window, said Ford had put his hands in the air when he was tackled to the ground and shot three times. Harrison said that while on the ground Ford "was struggling like he didn't want anyone on top of him, didn't want anyone holding him down". Two women who were in the home adjacent to the driveway said Ford had not been on top of one of the officers and had instead been face-down with the officer on top of him. Dorene Henderson, a friend of the Ford family, said she heard someone yell "Get down, get down." She said she heard a pop and neighbors telling officers "He's got mental problems." Hill said "I was sitting across the street when it happened ... The cops jumped out of the car and rushed him over here into this corner. They had him in the corner and were beating him, busted him up, for what reason I don't know he didn't do nothing." Hill said he heard an officer say, "Shoot him", followed by three gunshots, while Ford was on the ground. Ina Smalls, who lives across the street from Ford, said she ran outside after hearing gunshots and saw Ford "on the ground, shot dead, handcuffed on his stomach". Smalls said she did not believe that Ford had tried to take the officer's gun.[12] Fred Sayre, Ford's parents' attorney, said none of the witnesses he had spoken to could decisively say whether Ford grabbed for the officer's gun. 

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Ford was taken to California Hospital Medical Center, where he underwent surgery, and was pronounced dead at 10:10 p.m. Tritobia Ford said police had refused to inform her where her son was hospitalized. Police initially offered little information about the shooting and did not initially release Ford's name or specify why they stopped him. Imaizumi said police had declined to release information due to a "gathering" at the scene. 

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On August 18 the LAPD placed a "security hold" on the release of the report of Ford's autopsy. Smith said the hold was due to the risk that the autopsy's findings would affect witnesses' testimonies, but Hutchinson said it would fuel "suspicions about the LAPD's version of the Ford killing." 

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In October 2014 the South-Central Neighborhood Council passed a resolution calling on Los Angeles City Council member Curren Price to direct the LAPD to release Ford's autopsy report. A spokesman said the LAPD was reluctant to release information that could adversely affect ongoing investigations, and that the department had seen little success in finding witnesses. On November 13 Garcetti said the report would be made public by the end of 2014.  

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The autopsy was released on December 29. It showed Ford was shot three times, in the back, side and right arm. The gunshot wound in his back bore a "muzzle imprint" suggesting the shot was fired at very close range. It also noted multiple abrasions to Ford's hand and arm. Experts consulted by the Los Angeles Times said none of the autopsy's findings were unexpected or contradicted the officers' accounts. 

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In June 2015 Beck criticized confidentiality laws, which he argued prevented him from making public the disciplinary measures to be placed on Wampler and Villegas, and called for "greater leeway for the police department to make not only the decisions known, but the rationale behind the decision." He said that these confidentiality requirements prevented him from discussing what measures would be taken against Wampler, or what form they could take. In July 2015 officials told KPCC that the LAPD would re-train all its officers in de-escalating confrontations with suspects and in approaching people with mental illnesses, in part in response to the shootings of Ford and Michael Brown. 

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In September 2014, Ford's family members filed a federal wrongful-death lawsuit against the LAPD. They voluntarily dismissed this suit in June 2016. In March 2015, Ford's parents filed a second wrongful-death lawsuit in state court, alleging that Wampler and Villegas intentionally or negligently shot Ford and that Wampler and Villegas violated Ford's constitutional rights. The suit also alleged that the LAPD had a longstanding practice of violating civil rights, and that Wampler and Villegas were motivated by Ford's race and their "prejudice, disdain and contempt for African Americans or persons of black skin tone. "The City of Los Angeles settled this lawsuit in October 2016 for $1.5 million. In January 2017 Los Angeles County prosecutors said Wampler and Villegas would not face criminal charges in connection with the shooting.

 

What can we do? 

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1. Justice for Ezell Ford:
 

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2.Contact Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey demanding Sharlton Wampler and Antonio Villegas be prosecuted for the racist murder of Ezell Ford. (213) 974-3512 or info@jackielacey.com