The mother of Ezell Ford, who was fatally shot by Los Angeles police in 2014, said Tuesday the decision by prosecutors not to charge the officers involved means her son “will not see justice.”
Speaking to reporters at First AME Church in South Los Angeles, Tritobia Ford said the officers involved are getting away with murder.
“God is the ultimate judge and they will pay for what they did,” Tritobia Ford said. “… He never did nothing that would warrant him being murdered in the street like he was on the night of August 11, 2014. It was unwarranted. It was unjustified. And as I say, I believe God will have the final say. They may have gotten by right now, but it’s not over. They will have their day.”
Fighting back tears, she referenced the “muzzle imprint” found on her son’s back and the two other shots that were fired into him.
“My son was unarmed. He was murdered. And there will be no justice. He will not see justice. There will be no justice for Ezell,” she said.
Ford said that even after the city Police Commission ruled the shooting was out of policy, she did not believe that LAPD Chief Charlie Beck would discipline the officers.
“These officers are getting away scot-free,” she said.
Ford said she was not shocked at Lacey’s decision not to pursue charges, “but the amount of time that it took for the district attorney to reach this decision is just mind-boggling.”
“I just believe that she knew … long before now that she had no intention of filing charges,” she said. “… It just doesn’t make sense and it’s not fair.”
Ford said District Attorney Jackie Lacey called her directly to tell her about the decision before it was made public. She said she told Lacey she would never believe that her son would have tried to wrestle a gun away from a police officer.
“There’s no way in my mind,” she said. “My son had dealt with the police before … and he knew better.”
