One LAPD Officer Not Within Policy in Fatal Shooting of Ezell Ford, Commission Finds
Ford, who was unarmed and had a mental illeness, was killed in August of 2014.
— -- The Los Angeles Police Commission decided that one of the city's officers acted within policy and another did not in the fatal shooting of Ezell Ford, an unarmed black man with a mental illness.
The Commission did not comment on whether or not the officer who didn't act within policy would be punished, and added that any criminal charges against the officer would have to be brought by the district attorney's office.
It was not immediately clear what actions each officer took in the Aug. 11, 2014 incident. The police chief and the department's independent monitor said both officers were justified in their actions, according to the Associated Press.
Ford, 25, was killed by two officers near his home that day after he resisted arrest and grabbed an officer's handgun, according to the LAPD.
Ford's family has disputed the police department's account, saying they have no faith in the investigation or the LAPD.
The LA Police Commission convened today at 9:30 a.m. and listened to hours of public comments, ABC News station KABC reported.
Speakers at the meeting included Black Lives Matter activists in the area and Ford's mother, Tritobia Ford, who demanded the punishment of the officers and for LAPD Chief Charlie Beck to be fired.
At one point, commissioners walked out after members of the public began chanting, but they reconvened soon after until 12:30 p.m..
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement Monday that his heart went out to Ford's mother and her grieving family.
"I look forward to meeting with her in the coming days," he said. "Trust and transparency are the foundation of the relationship between the Los Angeles Police Department and people it serves. I have confidence that the Police Commission will conduct an impartial and fair-minded review of the investigations conducted by both the LAPD and the independent Inspector General."