Investigations will clear LAPD officers in death of mentally ill man, sources say

LOS ANGELES, June 6 (UPI) -- Two separate investigations will conclude next week that two officers of the Los Angeles Police Department were justified in the controversial shooting death of a mentally ill man last August, sources told news media Friday.

Ezell Ford, 25, was shot as he walked near his home in South L.A. on Aug. 11, officials said. Officers Sharlton Wampler and Antonio Villegas, members of the LAPD anti-gang unit, supposedly told investigators they approached Ford because they believed they saw him try to discard narcotics.

During the encounter, they said, Ford tried to take one of the officers's gun from its holster. The LAPD and its inspector general both launched investigations into the shooting, which caused outcry from the community over police use of force.

Both the LAPD and the inspector general's office will conclude that the officers were justified in their shooting, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday, citing sources close to the matter who asked not to be identified because they weren't authorized to reveal the information.

Police Chief Charlie Beck will recommend that both officers be cleared outright and Inspector General Alex Bustamante will conclude the same, but recommend that the board fault the officers for using bad tactics, the sources said.

If the board agrees with Bustamante, it will be up to Chief Beck whether to discipline the officers -- which could include punishment or retraining.

According to investigators, Officer Wampler and Ford both exhibited scratches on their hands and Wampler's firearm holster also displayed scratches, the Times report said. Further, testing reportedly found Ford's DNA on one of the officers's handgun.

The shooting triggered protests among Southern California communities, many of which called for the officers to be fired. In March, Ford's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the police department.

An LAPD spokesperson told CBS Los Angeles Friday that she was unaware of the investigation's conclusions.

The police department is expected to make a formal recommendation to the civilian Los Angeles Police Commission on Tuesday, when the commission will make the final decision.

An attorney for the Ford family told CBS Los Angeles that they would be devastated if officers Wampler and Villegas are cleared. The family has said the mentally-challenged Ford, who had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, posed no threat to the officers.

CBS Los Angeles reported that Officer Wampler had a previous run-in with Ford in 2008, when he was arrested for possession of marijuana. However, the officers reportedly told investigators that they did not recognize Ford as they approached him Aug. 11.

So far, the police department has not yet specified why the officers stopped Ford or whether they found any narcotics at the scene, the Times report said.

When informed by the Times of the coming conclusions, Ford's mother became emotional, the paper reported.

"Wow. Oh, wow," Tritobia Ford reportedly said, adding that she hoped the U.S. Department of Justice will investigate her son's shooting.

Ford was unarmed during his encounter with police, and was subsequently shot three times. One bullet was fired at such close range that it left the imprint of the officer's gun muzzle on his body.

"Why didn't they just allow him to keep walking? He wasn't doing anything. He wasn't committing any crime. He wasn't bothering anybody," she told the Times.

"He was minding his own business."