Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Autopsy revealed LA police officer shot unarmed black man three times

Lavell Ford wears a T-shirt protesting the fatal police shooting of his brother Ezell Ford, who died during an August 11, 2014 confrontation with police in South Los Angeles, at a rally in Los Angeles, California August 15, 2014. Police are investigating the shooting death of an unarmed black man by an officer during an "investigative stop" that led to a struggle, a police spokeswoman said on Wednesday. Police said they were not immediately identifying the deceased man, but a woman who said she was his mother told local broadcaster KTLA his name was Ezell Ford, 25. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW)
Lavell Ford wears a T-shirt protesting the fatal police shooting of his brother Ezell Ford, who died during an August 11, 2014 confrontation with police in South Los Angeles
(Reuters) - An unarmed 25-year-old black man slain by Los Angeles police officers in August suffered three gunshot wounds, including one to his back, a long-awaited autopsy report into the killing showed on Monday.
Police have said two officers shot Ezell Ford, described by a family lawyer as mentally challenged, on Aug. 11 after he struggled with one of them and tried to grab the officer's holstered gun.
Ford's death, which came just days after the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, touched off demonstrations outside police headquarters in Los Angeles.

More protests were expected for Monday afternoon following release of the report, which was completed some time ago but kept under wraps by police officials during their investigation into the incident.
The autopsy conducted by the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office showed that Ford suffered gunshot wounds to the arm, back and right flank. The wounds to his back and flank were fatal, it said. Toxicology tests showed Ford had marijuana in his system at the time of his death.
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck told a news conference the autopsy report was only part of a comprehensive probe into the shooting and that investigators were still seeking to corroborate the officers' account.
"There is nothing in the coroner's report that is inconsistent with the statements given to us by our officers," he said. "We are still looking for witnesses. We still are looking for other versions of events."
Beck said that, according to that account, Ford was grappling with one officer when his partner shot Ford in the arm and flank.

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