Los Angeles police panel: 1 officer unjustified in death

LOS ANGELES (AP) – The Los Angeles Police Commission found that an officer wrongly approached and stopped a 25-year-old black man last year ultimately leading to the fatal close-range shooting and therefore violated department policy, according to a new report

The commission voted unanimously during a closed session Tuesday, finding that Officer Sharlton Wampler was unjustified in the August shooting of Ezell Ford but Officer Antonio Villegas was justified.

The commission found Wampler violated policy from his initial approach through the killing of Ford. Villegas was found in violation in only one area – an earlier drawing of a gun before the final use of deadly force.

Their analysis, released hours later Tuesday, demonstrated the first application on an updated use-of-force policy, tweaked last year to better mirror language in a California Supreme Court decision.

It requires reviewers to examine whether problematic decisions or actions by officers ultimately caused the confrontations that ended in the use of deadly force.

The commission looked at the “totality” of circumstances, not just the moment deadly force was used, and it found that “deficient tactics used by (Wampler) and the legally inappropriate detention of (Ford) led to the subsequent altercation, rendered the use of deadly force unreasonable and out of policy.”

Beck had recommended the officers’ actions be ruled justified and said in a statement late Tuesday, “I respect the process and the decision made.”

Wampler and Villegas had been assigned to non-field administrative duties before the decision. It was unclear whether that will now change.

The commission’s finding means the case now goes to the Police Department’s internal affairs group. The group’s findings, which will likely take months, will then be forwarded to Beck, who determines what discipline the officers would face. Any decision on criminal charges would come from the district attorney.

Ford’s mother, Tritobia Ford, had pleaded to commissioners amid hours of sometimes tense public comment to find the officers’ actions improper, saying her son had the thought process of an 8- or a 10-year-old.

After the decision, she said she was pleased, but urged prosecutors to bring criminal charges, saying she will “ask those who killed my precious boy be brought to justice.

Attorney Steven Lerman, who represents Ford’s family, said he believed both officers acted outside policy.

“It is a pitiful example of police gone wrong,” Lerman said. “They never should have stopped the guy.”

Craig Lally, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, called the commission’s decision “purely political and self-serving.” He said it would make officers less likely to engage in aggressive police work or proactive policing.

An attorney representing the two officers could not be immediately reached late Tuesday.

Mayor Eric Garcetti met with the Ford family for 45 minutes after the decision and spoke with Ford’s mother about her loss.

At a news conference, he said the decision shows that “we have a system that can work. Every life matters, but due process matters as well.”

Beck and the watchdog found that evidence supported the officers’ contention that Ford was shot after trying to grab an officer’s gun. That evidence included Ford’s DNA on Wamper’s holster. A previously released autopsy report appeared to support the officers’ account.

According to the LAPD, Ford was acting suspiciously when he caught officers’ attention in August.

The police commission report quotes the officers describing Ford as looking in their direction, walking away quickly, and having his hands in his waistband area. It also said Ford was in a gang area and in the vicinity of a group of gang members, though they had not seen him with them.

The incident escalated after Ford refused to talk to them and continued to walk away. Wampler tried to get close enough to handcuff Ford.

The department said Ford then knocked Wampler to the ground, grappling for his holstered weapon when Villegas fired two shots.

Wampler pulled out a backup gun and shot Ford in the back.