Leon Ford’s new book describes his process of redemption and healing

Healing became a journey and led to so much more for Leon Ford, the young man police shot five times in 2012 in a case of mistaken identity, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.

Through hard work he’s adapted physically in the nearly 11 years since that November day. Mentally, he had to give himself grace and then extend that grace to others, including police officers. The process has been a nuanced one, Ford said, involving reconciliation and redemption and leading him to co-create a foundation last year. He has become an international speaker, a social entrepreneur, a changemaker and an author among his other accomplishments.

Ford, now 30 and a Larimer resident, explains this in “An Unspeakable Hope,” his new book released last week that will be the focus of a Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures’ Made Local series program in partnership with the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and The Pittsburgh Foundation on Thursday in the Oakland main branch’s lecture hall. His presentation begins at 6 p.m. and is free with prior registration.

“We were thrilled to learn that Leon Ford has written this important book about his experiences and the profound work he is doing in our community,” said Stephanie Flom, Arts & Lectures executive director. 

Ford also spoke on a panel with broadcaster and author Mark Whitaker at the second annual Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books held at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Saturday, just a block and half away from where he was pulled over that night. The book, which moderator and NEXTpittsburgh columnist Tony Norman called a “warts and all” account of Ford’s life, begins with the shooting.

Ford had started working at his uncle’s Wilkinsburg auto body repair shop, moving up from sweeping floors to sanding, prepping and painting the wrecked cars there after he graduated from Carlynton High School in 2011. He had moved on from his past of dealing drugs and facing two gun charges as a juvenile, Ford said. He spent some time at the former Shuman Juvenile Detention Center because he had to be forced to testify in a shooting case.

When Pittsburgh police pulled him over, they accused him of being Lamont Ford, a known gang member, and after a traumatic exchange, Officer David Derbish shot him. The wound to Ford’s spine paralyzed him.

His son, LJ, was born while he was in the hospital undergoing multiple surgeries and experiencing a medically induced coma and weeks in the ICU.

Ford faced felony charges of resisting arrest and felony assault. He was acquitted on those charges and in 2017 sued the city and the officers involved in federal court on civil rights claims. A jury deadlocked on one officer and found the second not liable. Ford then filed a second federal suit but came to terms with the city in January 2018 for a $5.5 million settlement.

Ford self-published a memoir in 2017, written with a lot of restrictions because of the pending civil case. “It focused just on the healing process and things that helped me just push through life to overcome adversity,” he said. “[With this] book I go much deeper into how I see the world in my lived experiences.”

As he told the crowd at last weekend’s book festival, Ford wanted people to know that although he grew up mainly in Garfield, a community and family that “could be complicated,” he knew he was loved and supported by family and friends. Ford said he needed this book to explain it all to his son, needing to be honest and to write about “his worst self in order to learn about his best self.”

His upbringing included a father who was a drug kingpin who was sentenced to 13 years in prison. But Ford said his father was very protective, and after the shooting he led him away from Ben Crump, the nationally prominent lawyer who specializes in civil rights cases and led the George Floyd legal team.

Ford’s dad was skeptical of lawyers and “people getting paid” for their involvement in social justice cases and movements such as Black Lives Matter. “I decided not to lean into that narrative. My story is one of reconciliation and redemption and not division,” he told the audience, noting he supports the BLM movement but said the organization is complicated. 

As he looks back, Ford said he learned an important lesson about being an influencer versus a leader. He said sending out tweets after the shooting that then-Mayor Bill Peduto and police Chief Scott Schubert were racist, for example, which “made me feel good” and garnered retweets. But he said having a voice on social media “doesn’t make you a leader.” The book describes learning to become one from mentors and his own varied experiences, including a run for Pittsburgh City Council.

Today he calls Peduto a friend. And Schubert, who retired as chief last July, co-founded the Hear Foundation with him last year.

“I have come extremely far. … It’s a testament to the power of perspective, the power of reconciliation, the power of redemption,” he said. “When we lean into these relationships that are rooted in authenticity, rooted in honesty, rooted in trust, we can really make some advancements in bridging the gap.” 

Ford said when he has private conversations with Schubert, there is pushback on both ends. “That is a testament to the power of meaningful relationships,” he stressed. “It is possible to have relationships with people you disagree with.”

He lists lawyer Laura Ellsworth, businessman John Henne, Lenny McCallister and Trabian Shorters as some of his mentors, a mix of prominent Pittsburghers, national media figures and advocates, some of whom now serve on the Hear Foundation board. Ford said he respects Kevin Acklin, current Pittsburgh Penguins president of business operations who was Peduto’s chief of staff when the shooting occurred. “He saw my humanity, and I saw his,” he said. “He gave me wisdom and love despite my case, which was really fascinating.”

Ellsworth encouraged Ford to sit down with Schubert, who was not chief when Ford was shot, and a face-to-face meeting proved eye opening. “He was able to humanize himself and see my humanity in a way that provided an opportunity that enabled us to discuss issues important to us without judgment,” Ford said. “I thought that was really profound.  Although there were differences, we were able to lean into common ground, which was our love for Pittsburgh, the gun violence we see in the city and across the country, and mental health, and workforce development.”

The book describes another meeting, also arranged by Ellsworth two years ago, with Derbish. Ford prayed with others before that meeting, accompanied by a police commander and a pastor.

“I think that conversation was about the redemption. I believe in redemption,” Ford said. “I believe everyone should have the opportunity to redeem themselves. Unfortunately, we live in a society of cancel culture where we say this person doesn’t deserve any type of redemption. Redemption offers a path toward reconciliation. We all have our healing process. You can’t rush someone else’s process. So I am patient.”

He had to be patient with himself, too, as he recovered from the shooting, both physically and mentally.  He knows his body physically is still recovering, a “lifelong journey.” The mental therapy he received helped him understand the trauma he experienced, including as a young boy, and he touts its value in his new book.

Ford said it took almost two years of meetings and building relationships to create the Hear Foundation, the first and only nonprofit in Pittsburgh dedicated exclusively to collaborating with community leaders, Pittsburgh police, residents and the city to create a safe, thriving community for all, according to its website. In its first year it gave out three inaugural community microgrants in gun violence reduction, trauma and workforce development and will award a second round this year.  It won a 2023 McNulty Catalyst Prize.

Ford said he is excited about what is ahead for it. “We are a baby right now. Obviously, we want to fund more leaders and organizations here in the Pittsburgh area,” he said. “We want to continue to have a deeper impact here in Pittsburgh.”

Several police officers attended his Book Festival talk and posed for photographs with him, a testament to his evolved relationship with law enforcement.

“I have real relationships with those individuals who showed up,” Ford said. “I care about them, and they care about me. They go to speaking engagements schools with me, and I am in the weeds with them.”

He doesn’t want those relationships to be lost. “It has taken a lot of work to get these people who have real differences in the same room to collaborate to work together to make Pittsburgh safer for everyone.”

He’ll embark on a book tour to spread his message further than he has done already in his national and international travels and in a Cannes Film Festival award-winning documentary “Leon” he executive produced in 2019. All of it focuses, he said, on “these ideas around healing, around hope, around leadership and inspiration.”  

Much of his own inspiration comes from his now 10-year-old son, a fourth grader at a city charter school. “He is just like a huge light in my world,” Ford said. “You can never underestimate how powerful the presence of a child can be.”

He hopes that everyone who reads his book takes away several things.

“One is the physical aspect. I want the reader to understand how difficult the life is physically, emotionally and mentally for individuals who have a disability,” Ford said. “The second piece is perspective. I share very honest and transparent thoughts, feelings and emotions, what I felt immediately after I was shot and the years to follow about specific groups of people. With the love of family, the love of community, my perspective was able to shift. When I share my story, I want to spark and ignite of hope in each reader. I believe no matter what the adversity, we can rise, heal and make a difference.”

Leon Ford will be in conversation with Julius and Boatwright, founding CEO of Steel Smiling, at Pittsburgh Arts & Lecture’s Made Local series, presented with the Pittsburgh Foundation, on Thursday, May 18, at 6 p.m. at Carnegie Library Lecture Hall,4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, 15213. Admission is free with registration.