Ezell Ford Autopsy Report Due for Release

An autopsy report is expected to be released this week in the fatal LAPD shooting of Ezell Ford.

Mayor Eric Garcetti had ordered that the autopsy on Ford, which has been under a security hold at the Los Angeles Police Department's request, be released by the end of the year.

Community activists rallied Sunday near the spot in South Los Angeles where the unarmed man was shot and killed by police officers in August.

The protesters will seek disciplinary action if the officers who shot Ford were found to have use "reckless deadly force," according to a press release.

Police Chief Charlie Beck has said the Ford case has been a "difficult investigation" for the department.

Ford, 25, was unarmed when officers from a gang unit confronted him on a street near his home in South Los Angeles. Officers said they shot him as he tried to grab a gun during a struggle.

Family members say Ford was mentally ill and was harmless. A friend has said she witnessed the confrontation and didn’t see Ford struggle.

Also Sunday, about 35 demonstrators stood near Los Angeles City Hall, across the street from the Los Angeles Police Administrative Building Sunday, to show their support for law enforcement.

Protests across the country have denounced police actions, after several highly publicized deaths of black men in 2014, and grand juries' subsequent decisions not to prosecute the officers. Those protesters often proclaimed that "black lives matter," but the pro-police group's point was that "all lives matter."

"Because of all the recent negative support from the media, we're out here to support them (law enforcement) today," said Petros Frangos, one of the event's organizers.

"We need to stand together and be a family. And we never turn our back on our own," added another supporter, who identified himself only as Catholic priest Father Dan, who said he had previously worked in law enforcement.

The peaceful demonstration began at 1 p.m. with a prayer on the south lawn of the Los Angeles City Hall on First Street, led by Wiley S. Drake Sr., founder of the Buena Park-based Congressional Prayer Conference of Washington D.C.

Signs read "We Support The Rule of Law" and Reason Must Prevail Not Emotion."

City News Service contributed to this report.

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