Los Angeles, California–Monday responding to the Ezell Ford autopsy report, the attorney for the Ford Family said that the officers involved in the fatal shooting of the black 25-year-old were “animalistic.”
Attorney Steven Lerman speaking about officers Sharlton Wampler and Antonio Villages said that, “They had nothing better to do,” than to kill the mentally challenged Ford.
The autopsy report corroborated the account given by the two officers that Ford had wrestled with one of the officers and grabbed a gun from his holster while lying on top of him. One of the officers reached around Ford and shot him in the back with a backup gun. The other officer also fired two shots at Ford after his partner yelled that “he’s got my gun.”
The fact that Ford died from gun wounds to the back upset many and has become a point of contention. But, the Los Angeles Times reported that this type of shooting is not uncommon. Ed Obayashi, an Inyo County sheriff’s deputy who is also an attorney and an expert on police use of force said, “That’s not unusual. It happens all the time.”
LAPD officer Jeff Richter told Breitbart News that the investigation is young and is ongoing. Richter explained that even when it is a police officer that is involved in a killing, the case is turned over to the Force Investigation Division and covered with all the due diligence of any other homicide.
Investigators have reached out for the last four months to the community for witnesses to come forward to helps shed further light on the case.
Richter said much of the information regarding the case is classified so that he is not privy to every development in the case. He added that frequently witnesses come forward late in the investigation that can change the complexion of the case.
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