The common factor in all of the cases not prosecuted by Atty. Lacey involving law enforcement were vulnerable Black victims:
• Marlene Pinnock, mentally ill, homeless grandmother beaten by California Highway Patrol Officer Daniel Andrew on July 1, 2014. Mr. Andrew was never charged and was allowed to resign in settlement.
• Ezell Ford, young, mentally ill man, stopped on ‘reasonable suspicion’ and killed in his neighborhood by LAPD Officers Sharlton Wampler and Antonio Villegas. Neither was charged, even Mr. Wampler, who was found out of policy for violating Mr. Ford’s rights by the L.A. Police Commission.
• Brendon Glenn, homeless Black man shot and killed by LAPD officer Clifford Procter, May 15, 2015, has not been charged.
• Charly “Africa” Leundeu Keunang, homeless Skid Row resident killed after being tasered inside his tent by LAPD officers. Prosecutors ruled Sergeant Chand Syed and Officers Francisco Martinez and Daniel Torres acted lawfully stating police body cam video shows Mr. Keunang reached for an officer’s gun. Activists demand the DA’s office and LAPD release the footage.
• Wakiesha Wilson, Black mother who died March 27, 2016 in LAPD custody after being found hanging in her jail cell. Police claim she committed suicide but according to her attorney, she died from strangulation and was found lying on the floor. No charges have been filed.
Residents have taken to the streets in frustration and anger over several years in response to what they charge is lack of police accountability for wrongdoing.
In August 2014, activists held a march and rally at the D.A.’s office to demand justice for Mr. Ford, as well as Omar Obrego, a Latino father fatally beaten by officers one week before the Ford killing. In September 2015, a host of civil rights organizations demonstrated outside her offices and called for her resignation to no avail.