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LAPD Chief: Ezell Ford Autopsy To Be Made Public By End Of Year

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The autopsy on a man who was shot by two police officers in South Los Angeles will be made public by the end of the year, Mayor Eric Garcetti said Thursday.

The autopsy report on Ezell Ford, 25, has been on a security hold at the request of the Los Angeles Police Department while the investigation into the Aug. 11 shooting continues.

The security hold, along with the shooting investigation that seems to drag along, has led to frustration from some community and civil rights activists, some of whom met with Beck to push for progress in the probe.

Beck said he does not want to permanently bar access to the autopsy report.

The chief said the Ford case has been a "difficult investigation" for the department, and he asked that anyone who witnessed the shooting to contact police, the District Attorney's Office, or the office of the LAPD Inspector General Alexander Bustamante.

Garcetti also urged witnesses to come forward, saying the city and community are "united in the search for truth."

Ford was shot to death in the 200 block of West 65th Street by officers Sharlton Wampler and Antonio Villegas after a struggle in which Ford reportedly tried to grab for an officer's gun, police officials said.

Ford's family filed a $75 million federal lawsuit against the city in September, contending that Ford was shot while complying with police orders to lay on the ground.

The shooting led to several protests and calls for a speedy and transparent investigation. Activists have contended that eyewitnesses dispute the police account of events.

Earlier this year, however, Bustamante put out a call for witnesses to the shooting, saying only one person had come forward.

(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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