“This isn’t just about #EzellFord or #Ferguson this is an epidemic across the nation” #LAPD #HandsUpWalkout pic.twitter.com/sG5QMgQbQ7
— Matt Ferner (@matthewferner) December 1, 2014
Updated at 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 1.
A group of protesters rallied against police shootings in front of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Newton Station Monday, then marched to the spot where a 25-year-old man died in an officer-involved shooting.
Some protesters carried signs reading “Ferguson is Everywhere” and “Police Brutality and Murder Must Stop.”
The group, numbering about three dozen, rallied in front of the police station and drew chalk outlines of bodies on the sidewalk, labeling one Ezell Ford, who was killed by police in South Los Angeles on Aug. 11.
Protesters then marched from the station at 3400 Central Ave. toward West 65th Street and Broadway, where Ford was shot. Los Angeles police kept a close eye on the march along Central and Slauson avenues, instructing participants to avoid blocking traffic.
At least one protester was seen being detained by police as they tried to keep marchers on one side of the street. According to Officer Drake Madison, two people were cited during the march and one protester was arrested — the reason was unclear.
Ford was shot two days after the Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown by police in Ferguson, Missouri. The South Los Angeles shooting sparked multiple protests and demands for a swift investigation that remains underway. Mayor Eric Garcetti and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said last month Ford’s autopsy results would be made public by the end of the year.
Police have said Ford was making “suspicious movements” so officers approached him, but the man turned and “grabbed one of the officers.” Ford was reaching for the gun of one of the officers, so both officers — Sharlton Wampler and Antonio Villegas — opened fire, according to the LAPD.
Ford’s family filed a $75 million federal lawsuit against the city in September, contending that Ford was shot while complying with police orders to lay on the ground.
— City News Service