Killing of Ezell Ford

Ezell Earl Ford (born October 14, 1988) was a 25-year-old African-American man who was shot and killed by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers Sharlton Wampler and Antonio Villegas in the Florence neighborhood of Los Angeles on August 11, 2014. Ford's family and neighbors said he had been diagnosed with depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, and that neighborhood residents, including local police, were aware of his mental illness.

According to LAPD accounts, officers Wampler and Villegas approached Ford during an "investigative stop" at around 8:20 p.m., saying he made "suspicious movements" and appeared to conceal his hands. The officers said Ford then "attacked" and "tackled" Wampler, leading to a struggle in which Ford allegedly reached for an officer's holstered weapon. Villegas fired two shots and Wampler fired a third, fatally wounding Ford. Multiple eyewitnesses disputed this account, saying Ford had raised his hands and was tackled and shot while lying on the ground, complying with police orders. Ford's autopsy, released in December 2014, showed he was shot three times — in the back, side, and right arm — with a "muzzle imprint" on the back wound indicating it was fired at close range.

The shooting prompted multiple investigations. LAPD Chief Charlie Beck's report, completed in 2015, found both officers justified. A separate report by Inspector General Alex Bustamante found the shooting justified but concluded Wampler lacked reasonable grounds to suspect Ford of possessing drugs. On June 9, 2015, the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners issued a decision finding Villegas's actions justified but ruling that Wampler had violated Ford's civil rights by detaining him and had acted outside LAPD policy in multiple respects, including tactics, drawing his weapon, and use of force. The Board's ruling was not legally binding; disciplinary decisions rested with Beck, and any criminal charges with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office. In January 2017, county prosecutors announced that Wampler and Villegas would not face criminal charges.

Ford's death, coming two days after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, drew comparisons between the two cases and sparked numerous protests in Los Angeles, including marches, sit-ins outside LAPD headquarters, and demonstrations at meetings of the Board of Police Commissioners. Civil rights leaders and activists called for the officers' termination and prosecution, mandatory body cameras, and reforms to policies on mental health and use of force.

Ford's family filed a federal wrongful-death lawsuit in September 2014, which was voluntarily dismissed in 2016, and a second wrongful-death lawsuit in state court in March 2015, alleging civil rights violations and racial bias. The City of Los Angeles settled this second lawsuit in October 2016 for $1.5 million.