It’s been 16 years since they lost their child. The child’s father, Sung Man, and his mother, Hong Ran Cho, lost their son to police gunfire.
The couple’s second child, Michael Cho (25 at the time) was shot dead by police on December 31, 2007, in front of a liquor store in La Habra.
The unjust death sparked outrage in the Korean-American community at the time. It led to a lawsuit by the bereaved family, as well as large-scale candlelight vigils demanding the investigation.
Michael Cho’s case bears many similarities to the case of Yong Yang, 40, who was shot dead by police in Los Angeles Koreatown on May 2.
The commonalities include the victim’s mental illness, the controversial nature of police brutality, the multiple officers involved in the shooting, and the police’s opaque post-incident announcement.
The Cho’s are now in their 70s. On May 9, they visited Oakdale Cemetery in Glendora, where their son is laid to rest. There, the elderly couple revisited a story they had kept to themselves. “The worst,” Cho said of police shootings of a civilian.
-Which part is the worst?
“I’m sure they’ve changed their policies (on guns) in the meantime, but it’s happened again. I don’t think it’s gotten any better.”
-What do you think of the police?
“From their point of view, they were justified. However, in the case of my son, I still wish the police would have thought twice before pulling their guns. He was clearly killed by excessive force.”
On the day of the incident, police responded to a report of a “person walking around with a weapon” and confronted Michael Cho in front of a liquor store in the La Habra neighborhood. What he was holding was not a weapon, but a crowbar. The officers demanded that he put the crowbar down, and when he refused, they shot him about a dozen bullets. The tragedy occurred just 41 seconds after they arrived and confronted Michael Cho.
-Have you ever met the officers who shot your son?
“No. They never appeared in court, I never met them face-to-face. But in my heart, I forgave them all. But it doesn’t change the fact that they murdered my son. I believe they will be punished for it one day. Shooting training is important, but there should be more training on how to understand different people.”
-You filed a lawsuit at the time.
“I don’t regret it. We believe the truth was revealed in that trial. The world never says ‘wrong’ until it is proven wrong. The jury was split evenly at the time. The jury kept going back and forth, and the judge finally told us to settle it. In a predominantly white neighborhood, it meant that we had won the case, and it was comforting. I think the lawsuit itself shed light on their (the police) wrongdoing.”
At the time, the Cho family had filed a civil lawsuit against the city of La Habra and the police department. After nearly three years of litigation, the case was settled with the city paying the family $250,000. After attorneys’ fees, the family received $100,000.
-Why did you decide to file a lawsuit?
“At first, my wife and I were just going to forget about it, but then my eldest son told me that we need to file a lawsuit. He said that we need to sue so that it wouldn’t happen again. So that we can prevent another victim.”
-What was the process of the lawsuit like?
Hong Ran Cho: “At that time, the police fired 13 rounds of bullets at my son. What was shocking was that he was already dead, yet they handcuffed him and carried (his body) away. I didn’t know how that made sense. I found that out during the trial. It was very mentally exhausting.”
According to the police investigation, two of the 13 shots struck the wall and 11 struck Cho.
-How do you view the police’s use of firearms?
Hong Ran Cho: “Of course, they have their own reasons, but I would like them to develop the ability to understand the situation and the target properly first. It’s a matter of life and death. I want officers to prepare various responses according to the situation and learn them.”
-How have you been since the incident?
“People say when children die, the parents bury them in their hearts. I prayed a lot. I read the Bible to get through it. I kept listening to hymns while traveling in the car, and I learned to play the flute. Now I play music every week at the homeless shelters or at the mission in Mexico.”
-When do you think of your son?
“I still dream about him often. So does my wife. I think of him more on rainy days than on sunny days. I don’t know why. I moved to Murrieta last year. I left the house in La Habra where I lived with my son. We had lived there for 26 years. Michael painted there. We left all his artwork there too.”
Michael Cho had studied art at UCLA. In 2008, after his death, an exhibition of his work was organized by a UCLA professor. Throughout the interview, Cho’s mother said she always referred to Michael, who was in his 20s, as “baby”. She also talked about a dream in which her son was a child, where he was riding a bicycle. She says she cannot remember how many times she called him “baby, baby” in her dreams.
-A similar incident happened recently in LA.
“First of all, our condolences to the family. The pain of a parent losing a child is something you never get used to. I lost my hearing the year after my son died due to stress. I will pray that they find strength and peace in your heart.”
BY YEOL JANG, HOONSIK WOO [jang.yeol@koreadaily.com]
