The family of Ezell Ford, an unarmed black man who was shot and killed by Los Angeles police earlier this week, announced Thursday that they will be filing a wrongful-death lawsuit against the police department.
The family’s lawyer, Steven A. Lerman, who also represented Rodney G. King in 1991 after he was brutally beaten by Los Angeles police, told reporters that he expects to file the complaint this week.
Although the circumstances surrounding the shooting still remain unclear, LAPD officials say that Ford tackled the officer and lunged for his gun, which was secured in the officer’s holster. The officer’s partner then shot Ford, and even reached for a backup weapon to shoot as well.
Lerman said that the officers could have used a less lethal option to control the situation.
“They could have used a taser, they could have wrestled him to the ground, they did not have to shoot right away,” Mr. Lerman said.
Ford’s family said the 25-year-old suffered from a mental illness, which has yet to be identified. Witnesses at the scene told local media that they saw no sign of Ford putting up a struggle with LAPD.
SOURCE: NYT | PHOTO CREDIT: ScreenGrab
