Aug. 11--An L.A. Police Commission meeting was briefly halted Tuesday after protesters began chanting and calling for criminal charges against the two officers who fatally shot Ezell Ford a year ago today.
The first mention of Ford's name at Tuesday's meeting prompted applause from some people in the audience, which included Black Lives Matter activists and Ford's mother. But the group erupted after a woman spoke in support of police and mentioned "black-on-black killings."
As demonstrators began to shout at the woman, Commission President Steve Soboroff called a recess and the board cleared the room. Activists sprang to their feet, holding photos of Ford and chanting his name.
Some held up posters with the names of the two officers who shot Ford in South Los Angeles. "Wanted for the cold blooded murder of Ezell Ford," the signs read.
Tensions flared when some of the activists yelled at the police officers who lined the front of the room. At one point, an 11-year-old girl shouted at the officers: "I am scared of you!"
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A few minutes later, a lieutenant with the Los Angeles Police Department spoke at the microphone usually reserved for public comments and declared an unlawful assembly. However, no arrests were made. The demonstrators instead were given a chance to speak and delivered subpoenas demanding that the officers and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck attend a "people's tribunal" over Ford's death.
"They have this policy of keeping killer cops on duty and they expect us to just accept it," one of the organizers, Melina Abdullah, said outside police headquarters. "If we did, we wouldn't be living up to our duty as people."
The Aug. 11, 2014, death of Ford became a local touchstone in the heated national conversation about police officers and how they use force, particularly against black men. Ford died two days after an officer shot and killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.
Ford, a 25-year-old mentally ill black man, was fatally shot as he walked near his South L.A. home. Police allege that Ford tackled one of the officers and attempted to grab his gun, prompting the officer to reach for a backup weapon and fire. The officer's partner also shot at Ford, police said.
A 10-month review of Ford's death came to a dramatic conclusion in June when the Police Commission ruled that one of the officers, Sharlton Wampler, who fatally shot Ford, acted within policy.
Wampler had been in a struggle with Ford over the officer's holstered handgun when the shooting took place, Chief Beck said. Although Wampler may have been in a fight for his life, police commissioners 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 officer's partner, Antonio Villegas, was found far less culpable. The panel disapproved only of Villegas' initial decision to draw his weapon early on in the confrontation, but said he ultimately was right to fire at Ford in an effort to protect his partner.
It is now up to Beck to decide whether to discipline the officers and for the L.A. County district attorney's office to decide whether to file criminal charges against them. A spokeswoman for the district attorney's office said Tuesday morning that the case was still under review.
MORE:
LAPD union blasts police commissioners over Ezell Ford decision
Ezell Ford's shooting violated LAPD policy, police commission rules
Ezell Ford autopsy, LAPD chief disclose new details of shooting
UPDATE
11:46 a.m.: This article was updated throughout with additional details from the Los Angeles Police Commission meeting.
The first version of this article was published at 11:08 a.m.
