Autopsy supports police in LA shooting
LOS ANGELES – An autopsy report released Monday on a 25-year-old black man killed in a confrontation with Los Angeles police appears to affirm initial statements by officers about the struggle that led to the close-range shooting, police said.
Ezell Ford was shot three times in his right side, right arm and back, according to the report that also says a muzzle imprint was found around the back wound and that Ford had abrasions to his left hand, forearm and elbow.
The report was disclosed after police initially ordered the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office to withhold the results for months to avoid tainting potential witness statements.
Ford was unarmed when police confronted him Aug. 11 on a street near his home.
Police said officers tried to speak to him but got into a struggle with Ford and shot him when he tried to grab an officer’s gun.
Indonesia seeks U.S. help locating plane
WASHINGTON – The State Department said Monday that Indonesia has asked the United States for help in locating a missing AirAsia jet and the Navy said it is sending a ship to the general search area to support search operations.
The Navy’s 7th Fleet said it is sending the USS Sampson, a destroyer. The Pentagon said it could include detection equipment deployed by air, surface and sub-surface.
The jet carrying 162 people is believed to have crashed into Indonesia’s Java Sea. The State Department says no Americans were on board.
Pentagon: Somali terror leader targeted
WASHINGTON – A U.S. airstrike in Somalia targeted a senior leader of the al-Shabab extremist group, the Pentagon said Monday.
Pentagon officials did not identify the leader or say whether the strike was successful.
A senior defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the airstrike took place Monday in the vicinity of Saakow, Somalia.
The Pentagon said it is assessing the results of the attack.
IRS: No delays for tax season
WASHINGTON – Tax-filing season will start on time this year despite a last-minute tax law passed by Congress, the IRS said Monday.
Taxpayers can start filing their 2014 tax returns on Jan. 20.
Earlier this month, Congress passed a bill extending more than 50 tax breaks that had expired at the start of the year. The new law extends the tax breaks through the end of the year, allowing taxpayers to claim them when they file their 2014 returns.
President Barack Obama signed the bill into law on Dec. 19.
In previous years, last-minute tax laws passed by Congress have delayed tax-filing season. But not this year, said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen.
Associated Press
