The family of Yong Yang, who was killed by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in Koreatown last week, is speaking out and asking for information from the city.
Key points:
- Yang, 40, was killed on May 2 after allegedly holding a kitchen knife towards officers who had been called to deal with a mental health episode.
- However, Myung Sook, Yang’s mother, is questioning the events that led to her son’s death, criticizing the involvement of police after they requested mental health assistance.
The details:
- The shooting happened after 11 a.m. at an apartment in the 400 block of South Gramercy Place after Yang’s parents asked the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (DMH) to come to the scene because of their son’s erratic behavior. He suffers from bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder.
- DMH officials had started the process to place Yang under a 72-hour mental evaluation hold before LAPD officers were called. A DMH ambulance was on its way to take him to a nearby medical facility. When the police arrived, they worked with DMH officials and asked for more units and supervision.
- Despite trying to talk to Yang to get him to leave the home, he didn’t. Officers reportedly used a key to enter the home and found Yang holding an 11-inch knife.
- “Shortly after, Yang moved towards the officers and a shooting involving an officer happened,” said the LAPD statement. “Yang was hit by gunfire, dropped the knife, and was taken into custody without any more trouble.”
- Paramedics later pronounced Yang dead. No other injuries were reported.
The investigation:
- Yang’s family says the fatal shooting was not justified. They say that nine officers used a “military-style maneuver,” according to their lawyer, Robert Sheahen.
- “How could this have happened to my beautiful boy?” Myung Sook said, based on KTLA. “We tried to do everything right to get him help. We called the Department of Mental Health and instead of helping him, they invited police into our home, and they shot and killed him.”
- The Force Investigation Division of the LAPD is currently looking into the incident.
