A mentally ill Korean-American man in his 40s was shot dead by police at his home in LA Koreatown. The family members of the deceased, who had asked the police for help in getting him to a treatment facility, are alleging police overreaction.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), at around 11 a.m. on May 2, officers received a call about a “violent male” at a multifamily residence near Gramercy Place in Koreatown.
โWe received a call from a โmental health clinician,โโ said LAPD Public Communications Officer Bruce Borihanh, adding that officers responding to the scene confronted the suspect with a knife, who an officer fatally shot.
The police had been called to the area several times before due to the suspect’s mental health issues, Borihanh added.
The deceased was identified as Yong Yang, 40, the son of Min Yang, who runs a university consulting company in the Los Angeles area.
โThe mental health clinician called the police for help to take my mentally ill son to the hospital, and the family waited outside the house as instructed by the officers,โ said Min Yang. โWe explained to the arriving officers about the details of my son’s condition and asked for their help,โ he continued. โSeven officers then entered the house and suddenly gunshots were heard coming from inside,โ he added, โThe officers knew he was mentally ill before they entered the house, and they had a Taser, but shooting him was clearly an overreaction.โ
โThe officer told me that my son was shot four times,โ he added. โIt’s hard to understand why it was necessary to shoot him that many times.โ
The mother of the deceased man also called the police’s statement that her son was carrying a knife during the incident not true, saying, โHe was not carrying a knife when I was in the house. He had never threatened someone with a knife before,โ she said.
The twin brother of the deceased spoke to the media at the scene and said, โThe officers who responded approached my brother without any support from the mental health clinician.โ
โThe police killed my brother,โ he said in a later interview with the Korea Daily, adding that โthe police are not disclosing any information despite the family’s questions.โ
At this time, the police are not providing details about the circumstances that led to the shooting. The only condition for an officer to open fire is when the suspect does something that makes the officer feel sufficiently threatened, said Public Communications Officer Bruce Borihanh.
The release of the officer’s body camera footage is crucial. Depending on the outcome, it could lead to renewed scrutiny of police regulations regarding the use of deadly force.
LAPD Interim Chief Dominic Choi also expressed concern about the recent rise in officer-involved shootings when he took office in March.
โWe’re going to investigate this case very carefully,โ Choi told the Korea Daily on May 2, adding, “The rules for officers to shoot are when there is an immediate threat, reasonable cause to respond, and the suspect’s behavior is key.”
BY SUAH JANG, KYEONGJUN KIM, JUNHAN PARK
[jang.suah@koreadaily.com, kim.kyeongjun1@koreadaily.com]
