LOS ANGELES _ Los Angeles County prosecutors said Tuesday they will not bring criminal charges against the two Los Angeles police officers who shot and killed Ezell Ford during a clash near his South L.A. home in 2014.
Ford, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, was shot and killed by LAPD Officers Sharlton Wampler and Antonio Villegas on Aug. 11, 2014, and his death has become a cornerstone of tensions between local activists and the LAPD. Ford died two days after a police officer shot and killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., drawing the shooting into a larger national conversation about police interactions with minority communities.
Wampler and Villegas, who were both assigned to an anti-gang unit in the LAPD's Newton Division, stopped Ford while he was walking down a street near his home.
Wampler grabbed Ford, according to investigators, sparking a physical confrontation. LAPD officials have publicly said Ford then forced Wampler to the ground and grabbed at his gun, prompting both officers to open fire.
In their ruling, prosecutors said the officers' actions were justified because Ford had proven himself to be a deadly threat.
"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," prosecutors wrote. "In fear for their lives, Villegas and Wampler each responded with deadly force."
More than two years later, local activists routinely describe Ford's death as an unjust killing. Some activists, including those affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement, continue to mention the 25-year-old's name at the Police Commission's weekly meetings.
The investigation that followed Ford's death has been closely watched by those activists, LAPD observers and many within the department, who have long speculated about whether the district attorney would charge either of the officers who shot him. District Attorney Jackie Lacey has faced some criticism over her handling of the case, particularly the amount of time it took for her office to announce its decision.
In 2015, the Police Commission determined Wampler violated LAPD rules when he shot Ford, even though Wampler said he was in a life-or-death struggle with Ford, wrestling over the officer's gun.
The board said Wampler's handling of the encounter was so flawed that it led to the fatal confrontation. The officer's partner, however, was cleared in his use of deadly force.
The decision was denounced by the union representing rank-and-file officers. Union officials accused commissioners of unfairly faulting Wampler for using deadly force to protect himself, saying the ruling could cause other officers to hesitate during dangerous encounters out of fear that they too would be criticized.
Two reports presented to the Police Commission _ one from LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, the other from Inspector General Alex Bustamante _ offer differing accounts of why the officers decided to confront Ford near 65th Street and Broadway.
According to Beck's report, the officers told investigators that when Ford would not stop to talk to them, they grew suspicious that he had drugs and was trying to ditch them to avoid being arrested. Those suspicions, Beck said, were based on having seen Ford walking away from a group of gang members.
But in his report to the commission, 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.
Wampler told investigations that when he grabbed Ford and tried to handcuff him, Ford turned and tackled the officer, pinning him to the ground, according to Beck's report. The officers described a fast-moving encounter with Ford, which they said escalated suddenly and lasted only seconds.
"He's going for my gun. He's going for my gun," Wampler shouted to Villegas, according to Beck's report.
Unable to see whether Ford was trying to get Wampler's gun, Villegas told investigators he believed his partner was in danger and fired a shot at close range. Ford appeared unfazed, and Wampler said he felt the gun coming out of his holster, the report said.
As Villegas fired a second time, Wampler reached beneath his bulletproof vest, grabbed his back-up revolver and reached around Ford, firing a single shot into his back, the report said.
The Police Commission disapproved of Villegas' initial decision to draw his gun early in the confrontation, but said he was ultimately right to fire at Ford to protect Wampler.
Wampler and Villegas sued the city this summer, alleging they were being kept on desk duty and unfairly denied advancement and other employment opportunities because of their race and Ford's. Wampler was described in the lawsuit as Caucasian, though department records list him as Asian-American. Villegas is Latino.
