The family of a mentally challenged man in Los Angeles is planning a protest after he was shot three times in the back by local police.  

This comes as tensions in Ferguson escalate over the police-involved shooting of teenager Michael Brown.  

The shooting occurred on Monday at around 8:00 in the evening in downtown LA.  Although the police did not immediately reveal the name of the man who was fatally shot in the incident, his family came forward and identified him as 25-year-old Ezell Ford.

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In a news release, media relations officer for the LAPD, Jane Kim, simply stated that officers from the Newton Division of Los Angeles' Police Department conducted an "investigative stop" when a "struggle ensued" which led to the officer firing his weapon.

Authorities didn't reveal the exact reason for why officers approached Ford.  As is standard with all shootings involving police, the LA District Attorney's office will investigate the circumstances surrounding the event, and investigators from the Chief of Police's office and the Board of Police Commissioners will also verify internally if the shooting fell within established use-of-force guidelines. 

Meanwhile, Ford's family wants answers.  Witnesses say that Ford was on the ground and complying with police when they heard one of the officer's say, "Shoot him," before he was shot in the back three times.

In a phone call with radio station KTLA, Ford's mother said that she was not informed where her son was hospitalized following the shooting.

Ford is said to have been very close to his family.  Friends and neighbors were aware that he suffered from some form of mental illness but he was well-liked and known for playing basketball in the local neighborhood where he was born and raised.  

A protest is being planned via Facebook by his friends and family members for 3pm on Sunday in front of the LAPD's headquarters. 

TagsPolice shootings, Ezell Ford, michael brown, Ferguson, LAPD shooting, mentally ill man shot by LAPD, Ford shooting