Protesters rallied in front of LAPD headquarters on the one-year anniversary of Ezell Ford’s death at the hands of officers. The demonstrators demanded Chief Charlie Beck take action against the officers involved. Beverly White reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2015.
Members of Black Lives Matter held a rally in front of LAPD headquarters in downtown Los Angeles to mark the anniversary of the shooting death of Ezell Ford. The Tuesday rally also coincided with a Police Commission meeting that many of the protesters sat in on.
One year after Ford's Aug. 11, 2014 death, his mother says she is still waiting for justice.
"It seems to be that nothing is happening, no one is taking it serious," Tritobia Ford said.
Ford, a mentally ill black man, was unarmed when he was fatally shot by police. Months of protests and calls by community activists for a swift and transparent investigation followed his death.
Police said they approached Ford for acting suspiciously, and he was shot when he lunged at one officer, while attempting to grab another officer's weapon.
An impromptu recess was called by Police Commissioner Steve Soboroff during Tuesday's meeting, citing a disturbance from protesters in the audience.
Soboroff told officers to remove the disruptive protesters. As they were being escorted out the room, dozens of people started chanting "Ezell Ford, Ezell Ford," and held up the 25-year-old's photo while confronting officers who were standing in the room.
Ford's mother voluntarily left the room, saying she appreciated what the protesters were doing but it got "a little overwhelming" for her.
His family said at a memorial service days before the anniversary of his death that it has forever changed the way they viewed law enforcement.
Activists with the National Action Network conducted a morning news conference one day after a different heated Police Commission meeting held on June 9, at which board members determined one Los Angeles police officer involved in the fatal August shooting in South Los Angeles violated department policy, but the other was justified in firing his weapon.
Police Chief Charlie Beck said the shooting was justified. Beck was not at the meeting Tuesday but many are now looking to him to punish the officers involved.
Ford's mother says she wants to see the two officers who shot her son fired. She also wants District Attorney Jackie Lacey to file charges against them.
"The Ford case remains under review and we have no further comment," Jane Robison of the DA's Office said.
His family filed a civil rights and wrongful death lawsuit against the LAPD last September, claiming Ford was shot in the back as he lay on ground.
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City News Service contributed to this report.
