mike brown
The shooting follows on from protests at the killing of Ferguson teenager Michael Brown Getty

The Los Angeles Police Department have been accused of shooting dead an unarmed black male in the wake of the killing of Michael Brown in Missouri.

The family of 25-year-old Ezell Ford claim he was unarmed and complying with police orders when he was fatally shot by an officer in the Florence area of Los Angeles.

The LAPD said an officer conducted an "investigative stop" on an individual during which a "struggle ensued, which resulted in an officer-involved-shooting".

Ford was then taken to a local hospital, but died of his injuries. Following his death, a woman believed to be the deceased's mother called a local news station to say her son was shot three times in the back and that he was known to have mental problems.

The shooting occurred following days of protests at the killing of 18-year-old Brown who was shot in Ferguson by a St Louis County police officer.

"My heart is so heavy," Tritobia Ford told KTLA News. "My son was a good kid. He didn't deserve to die the way he did."

A second man, who did not idfentify himself but is reported to be Ford's cousin, also alleged the officer shot him while he was lying face-down on the floor.

"They laid him out and for whatever reason, they shot him in the back, knowing mentally, he has complications," he said.

"Every officer in this area knows that this child has mental problems.

"The excessive force ... there was no purpose for it. The multiple shootings in the back while he's laying down?"

The LAPD said a review into the incident will be conducted by the Force Investigation Division.

A spokesperson added: "The investigation will ultimately be reviewed by the Chief of Police, the Office of the Inspector General and Board of Police Commissioners for compliance with the Department's use-of-force policy, which states that an officer's use-of-force actions must be objectively reasonable.

"Additionally, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Justice System Integrity Division will conduct a comprehensive review of the facts of the officer-involved-shooting."

A planned protest outside the LAPD headquarters has been organised for 17 August following Ford's death.

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