The LAPD has released the names of the two officers who shot Ezell Ford. The August 11 shooting occurred two days before the Ferguson slaying of unarmed teen Mike Brown. Like Brown, Ford was unarmed when the police fatally shot him.
LAPD identified Ford’s shooters Thursday as Sharlton Wampler and Antonio Villegas, who were assigned to the Newton Division gang enforcement detail. Wampler, a 12-year veteran, and Villegas, an eight-year veteran, approached Ford while he was walking down the street. They shot him three times in the back while he was lying on the ground.
Witness testimonies dispute the cops’ claims that Ford, who was mentally challenged, tackled a cop, trying to reach for his gun. One witness reports hearing an officer yell, “Shoot him,” before Ford was killed in the street.
The release of the officers’ names was delayed as a result of the police’s concern for the officer safety. The autopsy results have also been hidden from public review as a result of a security hold by LAPD. Officials have also declined to provide information about why the officers approached Ford as he was walking home along West 65th Street near Broadway.
The California Supreme Court recently ruled that police departments must provide the names of officers involved in shootings, unless they can demonstrate there are credible threats to officer safety.