The South Central Neighborhood Council presented a resolution to 9th District Councilman Curren Price calling on him to introduce a motion in the city council directing the Los Angeles Police Department to release the autopsy reports of Ezell Ford and Omar Abrego.
The resolution was passed unanimously Oct. 21, and presented to Price during a Days of Dialog event held Oct. 30 at Maya Angelou High School.
According to neighborhood council board member Cliff Smith, the resolution reflects the sentiments of a community that is demanding answers in the wake of these two killings.
He estimates that about 150 people of various ages showed up at the Days of Dialog and among the feelings expressed during a poll taken at the event was that 62 percent of those attending said people of color tend to be mistreated by the police. Additionally, 43 percent of those questioned did not expect the truth to be revealed by the police investigation.
According to the resolution, Ford, a 26-year-old mentally challenged man, was ‘attacked, beaten to the ground and shot three times in the back,’ according to witnesses. He was unarmed.
Abrego, a 37-year-old father of three, still wearing his Amtrak work uniform was beaten to death in front of his home at 69th and Main Street. Police allege he was driving erratically and attempted to flee. A a preliminary coroner’s report suggested Abrego was on cocaine. Witnesses said the police officers used their fist and batons to beat Abrego.
He too, like Ford, was unarmed.
Smith said community members want to find out the circumstances surrounding the death of the two men and are demanding that the police release the autopsy reports, which were apparently completed in August.
One published report said the autopsies of both Ford and Abrego were placed on a “security hold” by the Los Angeles Police Department.
The LAPD said the two killings are still under investigation, and told Councilman Price that such internal situations can take from eight to 12 months to conclude.
The Days of Dialog was a two-meeting series co-facilitated by the Institute for Nonviolence in Los Angeles and Councilman Price and focused on police-community interaction. The meetings were also part of a larger fabric of ongoing forums held by the institute since 2013 and following the death of Trayvon Martin.
A spokesperson for Price said the councilman is pushing for continued ongoing meetings between the community and the captain of the Newton Division police station (home of the deputies involved in the killings of Ford and Abrego.)
