Published on Aug 18, 2014
PROVIDED BY CNNNEXT.COM
Thousands of demonstrators have surrounded the headquarters of the Los Angeles Police Department to voice their anger at the killing of an African-American man by the police.
Ezell Ford was killed just two days after police officers in Ferguson, Missouri shot and killed black teenager Mike Brown.
Najee Ali with Project Islamic Hope says the officers who killed Ford knew he had mental health issues.
Ali says Ford’s death is part of an epidemic of African-American youth being shot and killed all across the country.
Several families who have lost sons to police officers attended the protest.
Vershell Hall says her son Richard was executed by the police.
Hall says the officer who killed her son was never punished.
Protesters marched through downtown Los Angeles, with police following along.
They would occasionally stop and put their hands up telling the officers “don’t shoot.” One activist said it’s up to the people to continue to demand change.
Ford’s family has already decided to take legal action.
Their attorney will be filing a federal civil lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department
