Ezell Ford protesters camp outside of Mayor Eric Garcetti's home

ByAmy Powell and ABC7.com staff KABC logo

Monday, June 8, 2015

Ezell Ford protesters camp outside of Mayor Garcetti's home

A group of protesters seeking justice in the case of Ezell Ford plan to camp outside of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's home in Hancock Park until Tuesday morning.

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A group of protesters seeking justice in the case of Ezell Ford plan to camp outside of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's home in Hancock Park until Tuesday morning.

On Sunday afternoon, people held signs and pictures of Ford, as they tried to get the mayor's attention.

A remembrance was also held for Ford at 65th Street and Broadway in South Los Angeles at noon. The event was a kickoff to what civil rights leaders are billing a "48 Hour Justice for Ezell Ford Police Commission Call In," according to Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Roundtable.

Ford's mother Tritobia Ford said that Garcetti has not given her family the respect they deserve.

"In other cities, you see the mayor come forward and he speaks of what's going on, the issues that's going on. I've seen the mayor dancing with Beyonce and doing all kinds of other stuff," Ford's mother Tritobia Ford said.

Hours later, a spokesman for the mayor reached out to Tritobia Ford at the protest in an effort to set a meeting up.

The protest, organized by Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, comes on the heels of a report by the Los Angeles Times that LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and Inspector General Alex Bustamante believe that the two officers were justified in their use of deadly force. LAPD Police Commission President Steve Soboroff declined to confirm or deny the validity of that report.

Ford, 25, was fatally shot by two officers near his home on Aug. 11, 2014. LAPD officials have previously said that Ford was resisting arrested and grabbed an officer's handgun. Ford's family disputes that account and says they have no faith in the investigation or the LAPD.

The family has filed a $75 million claim against the city and a federal civil rights lawsuit against the department and the two officers who shot him.

The Police Commission is expected to decide the fate of the officers involved on Tuesday. A spokesperson for Garcetti said he will not comment on the matter until after the board's decision.