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Local Youth Justice Coalition Meets To Discuss Police Use Of Force

INGLEWOOD (CBSLA.com) — A group of young locals gathered Tuesday to address the issue of use of force from police.

The focus of the Youth Justice Coalition's meeting was the case of Ezell Ford, an unarmed, mentally ill man killed Aug. 11 by Los Angeles police.

Many members of the coalition reportedly knew Ford, who was shot and killed by Newton Division gang detectives, and proceeded to include him in a reading of names of people killed by law enforcement throughout Southern California over the past 15 years.

The coalition claims the names represented people who were unarmed at the time they were shot.

Additionally, members shared stories of their own experiences of police harassment, or those of friends.

When asked if any justification of officer-involved shootings exists, the group discussed topics that have been brought up with departments in the past.

"I don't think we can answer that question," Maritza Galvaz said. "We can say that in the past, we have challenged in regards to why hasn't less force been used, why haven't tasers been imposed, why haven't cameras been attached to officers?"

LAPD is conducting an investigation into the shooting of Ford.

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