Autopsy shows Ford shot at close range

Demonstrators march in New York in December protesting about the number of young black men who have been shot by police. An autopsy released yesterday showed Ezell Ford had been shot a close range by Los Angeles police.

The autopsy report for an unarmed black man who was killed by Los Angeles police officers shows he was shot in the back at close range.

According to a copy of the highly anticipated report, posted online on Monday by The Los Angeles Times, Ezell Ford had been shot three times - once in the back, once in the arm and once in the abdomen.

The wound to the back left a muzzle imprint on Ford's skin, suggesting he was shot at close range. Ford's death was among a string of cases this year in which black men have been killed by police officers under contentious circumstances.

Ford, who was 25 and apparently suffered from mental illness, was killed on August 11 by two patrol officers in southern Los Angeles. He was alone, unarmed, and walking on the footpath.

The Los Angeles Police Department said Ford fought with the police officers and was trying to grab one of their guns. Ford's family and witnesses cited by local media deny that Ford had been aggressive.

The autopsy report does not provide a narrative of the shooting. Ford's autopsy was published after residents complained of a lack of transparency in police investigations and Mayor Eric Garcetti promised to publish it by the end of the year.

Demonstrators have taken to the streets across the US to protest what they say is disproportionate police violence against black people, including the July choking death of Eric Garner in New York and the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August.

Grand juries probing both those cases declined to charge the officers involved.