Despite some tactical improprieties, the police shooting was ruled justified. That was the conclusion reached by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) regarding Officer Andres Lopez, who fatally shot Yong Yang with a handgun last year.
Why do police officers carry guns? To protect the public from serious crimes. But that doesnโt mean they have a license to shoot suspects indiscriminately. Officers are required to follow strict guidelines before resorting to gunfire. Of course they must adhere fully to policy and protocolโand they must exercise restraint up to the very last moment. If someone questions whether thatโs realistic in a crisis, then maybe they shouldnโt be wearing a badge. The difference between law enforcement and an armed gang lies precisely in that line.
Some of Lopezโs inappropriate conduct resulted in the irreversible consequence of Yong Yangโs death. While police may brush it off as a minor misstep, the man lost his life, and his family remains unable to heal from the trauma.
Itโs also troubling that it took nearly a year for officials to exonerate him. It feels as though they deliberately delayed until the Korean American communityโs outrage fadedโonly to quietly hand out the exoneration.
The Yang Yong case sparked outrage across the Korean American community throughout last year. Yet the authorities responded with apathy. One has to ask: if the person shot by Lopez had been Black, would the commission have come to the same conclusion and quietly closed the case?
Many Korean Americans are comparing this to the killing of George Floyd. The reaction that erupted across the countryโled by the Black communityโwas overwhelming in scale. The officers responsible were punished. By contrast, the Yang Yong case is being brushed aside far too quietly.
The Korean American community has generally distanced itself from the โDefund the Policeโ movement and has supported law enforcementโout of hope for building a safer community. But when we look at how the police handled the Yang Yong case, we canโt help but ask whether that safety actually applies to us.
The Commissionโs decision perfectly illustrates the saying โthe arm bends inwardโ (a Korean proverb meaning people tend to side with their own). Their conclusion relied entirely on the LAPDโs own reportโwhich was filled with claims that the officersโ responses were tactically appropriate. The Use of Force Review Board (UOFRB) supposedly reviewed it, but they too were all former LAPD members, raising serious questions about objectivity. โThey judged the legitimacy of the incident among themselvesโwithout any third-party oversight or cross-review from civil society,โ said Dr. Min Yang, Yong Yangโs father.
Based on the commissionโs report, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell is expected to make a final decision on whether to discipline the officers. But McDonnell himself had already signed off on the same report the commission used to justify clearing the officer. Is this truly fair?
LAPD must not be allowed to quietly close this case. The Korean American community cannot look away as if this doesnโt concern them. If the police are allowed to bury Yangโs unjust death under self-serving logic, who knows who the next victim will beโor whose son will be treated as expendable by the police. This is why the Korean American community must watch McDonnellโs decision with wide-open eyes.
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BY KYEONGJUN KIM [kim.kyeongjun1@koreadaily.com]
