Ezell Ford's parents sue LAPD, this time in state court, over son's death

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Demonstrators block the southbound 110 Freeway, protesting in the wake of the Ezell Ford’s autopsy released in Los Angeles. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Lying on his father’s shoulder, Adam Mangum, 3, attends a vigil for Ezell Ford near his memorial at 65th street and Broadway. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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A demonstrator draws a portrait of Ezell Ford near his memorial at 65th Street and Broadway. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Tritobia Ford, mother of Ezell Ford, lights candles at her slain son’s memorial at 65th Street and Broadway after the LAPD released Ezell Ford’s autopsy results. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Demonstrators light candles around the corner from Ezell Ford’s memorial. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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A pedestrian passes a memorial to Ezell Ford. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Protesters block Crenshaw and Martin Luther King Jr. boulevards in Los Angeles on Monday. (Wally Skaij / Los Angeles Times)

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Hailly Flowers, right, hugs activist Najee Ali after a rally in Los Angeles Monday. About 40 demonstrators held a rally at Leimert Park following the release of Ezell Ford’s autopsy report. (Wally Skaij / Los Angeles Times)

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Protesters walk by a homeless man reading a book on Crenshaw Boulevard on Monday. (Wally Skaij / Los Angeles Times)

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Lavell Ford, the brother of Ezell, puts votive candles at the foot of his memorial on the day the LAPD released the coroner’s report. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Lavell Ford, Ezell Ford’s brother, lights a candle after marching with about 200 people from 65th Street and Broadway to the Jesse A. Brewer 77th Street Regional Headquarters on 77th and Broadway in Los Angeles. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

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Lavell Ford, Ezell Ford’s brother, wears a shirt that reads “Save Black Boys” during a march in remembrance of Ezell Ford, who was killed in a confrontation with Los Angeles police. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

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About 200 people march from 65th Street and Broadway to the Jesse A. Brewer 77th Street Regional Headquarters in remembrance of Ezell Ford, who died during a confrontation with police in South Los Angeles. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

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Lavell Ford, Ezell Ford’s brother, wears a shirt that reads “Save Black Boys” as he marches with about 200 people from 65th Street and Broadway to the Jesse A. Brewer 77th Street Regional Headquarters in Los Angeles. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

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Aubriel Turner, 2, eats an ice cream cone Wednesday near candles placed on the sidewalk in remembrance of her cousin, Ezell Ford, who was killed by Los Angeles police officers in the 200 block of West 65th Street. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

By Kate Mather

March 9, 2015 11:32 AM PT

The parents of a mentally ill man fatally shot by Los Angeles police officers last summer in South L.A. filed a new wrongful death lawsuit Friday, this time in state court.

The allegations outlined in Friday’s lawsuit mirror those Edsell and Tritobia Ford made in a federal lawsuit they filed last fall in connection with the Aug. 11 death of their son, Ezell Ford.

The state suit, however, also alleges that the actions of the two officers who shot Ford were “motivated” by the fact that Ford was black and their “prejudice, disdain and contempt for African Americans or persons of black skin tone.”

The federal suit alleges the Los Angeles Police Department maintained policies and practices that allowed racial profiling and the use of excessive force against African Americans. Attorneys for the two officers denied those claims in a response filed with the court, as did attorneys for the city of Los Angeles.

Attorneys for the officers -- identified by the LAPD as Sharlton Wampler, who is Asian American, and Antonio Villegas, who is Latino -- could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.

Ford’s death came amid a wave of nationwide protests over the high-profile deaths of black men at the hands of police and was frequently invoked during local protests that stemmed from the killings. Ford died just two days after a white police officer shot and killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.

The state lawsuit filed Friday alleges the two officers involved in Ford’s death used excessive force, were negligent and violated his civil rights when they shot and killed him. Like the federal suit, the state case also names the LAPD and the city of Los Angeles, alleging the department was negligent in “hiring, training or failing to supervise” the officers.

“Ezell Ford was subjected to an excessive amount of force where he had committed no criminal act, engaged in no suspicious criminal activity and was seized without probable cause,” the state lawsuit says.

The Fords are seeking unspecified damages. Their attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.

Ford, 25, was walking to the family’s home on West 65th Street shortly after 8 p.m. on Aug. 11, when two LAPD gang officers got out of their car to speak with him, according to the LAPD’s account of the incident. He looked at the officers, walked away and attempted to conceal his hands, according to police.

The officers followed Ford to a driveway, where LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said Ford crouched between a car and a row of bushes. As one of the officers reached for him, Ford forced him to the ground and grabbed his gun, according to authorities.

The officer yelled to his partner that his gun had been taken, Beck said, and the partner fired two rounds at Ford, the LAPD says. The first officer used a backup weapon to reach around Ford’s body and shoot him in the back, leaving a muzzle imprint.

One woman, who said she was a friend of Ford’s family, told The Times that she witnessed part of the encounter and saw no struggle between Ford and the officers.

Both the federal and state lawsuits allege that the officers involved knew Ford was “mentally challenged.” The department has said there were no initial indications that either of the officers recognized Ford when they approached him before the shooting.

Follow @katemather for more coverage of Ezell Ford’s death.