Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti released a statement overnight as a group protesting the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man continued to camp out Monday morning in front of his Hancock Park residence.
About 10 to 15 people were outside Getty House early Monday morning. Posters with Ford's image and signs with the words "Stop Police Violence" were posted on the front gate and brick wall outside the mayor's official residence.
Officers were stationed outside the central Los Angeles property, and some protesters confronted the mayor as he left with his security detail in a sport utility vehicle from the rear of the residence.
"Once the protesters found out about that, they decided to walk around the corner and try to talk to the mayor," said Jasmyne Cannick, a spokeswoman for Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles. "They are Angelenos, as well, and they do not understand why the mayor can't speak with them."
Garcetti, seated in the SUV's passenger seat, spoke with members of the crowd behind the residence for several minutes before leaving for a flight to Washington D.C.
Protesters vowed to remain at the site until Tuesday as part of a protest organized by Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles in response to reports in the Los Angeles Times that Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck and Inspector General Alex Bustamante have found that officers were justified in shooting 25-year-old Ezell Ford Aug. 11 near the intersection of 65th Street and Broadway in South Los Angeles. The protesters demanded that Tuesday's police commission vote on the matter be held in public and not in closed session.
In a statement released early Monday, Garcetti said he called Ford's mother, who brought snacks to the protesters Sunday when the gathering began with calls for the dismissal of Los Angeles' police chief.
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"Last night I called Ms. Tritobia Ford. I didn't reach her but left a message, telling her my heart goes out to her and her grieving family, as it has since the news first broke last August," Garcetti said in the statement. "I look forward to meeting with her in the coming days.
"Trust and transparency are the foundation of the relationship between the Los Angeles Police Department and people it serves. I have confidence that the Police Commission will conduct an impartial and fair-minded review of the investigations conducted by both the LAPD and the independent Inspector General."
The shooting of Ford in the 200 block of West 65th Street sparked months of protests and calls by community activists for a swift transparent investigation.
Ford, 25, was shot in South LA during a scuffle with officers, according to the police account. The LAPD said Ford did not comply with a request to stop, made suspicious movements and grabbed for an officer's gun after tackling them, according to the Times, which cited two sources who spoke on condition that they not be identified because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the case.
