The defendants in the case of Jonathan Jung, the unarmed Korean-American man who was pinned to death by five security guards in the parking lot of the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, are seeking about “$1 million” for every second of excessive force that led to his death.
The case is currently on trial in a Long Beach Courthouse, and defense attorneys for the plaintiffs’ family, Terrence Jones and Minh Nguyen, have asked the jury to award $132 million in damages.
“After being asked to leave, Mr. Jung made his way to his car to exit the casino, but the security officers continued to chase him,” said Jones, “and the physical force they used against Mr. Jung, who was unarmed, was excessive and deadly, even though the police were already on their way.”
In other words, the direct cause of Jung’s death was the excessive response of the security guards, who chased him, knocked him down, and then pinned him down before the police arrived.
“They handcuffed him to the ground on the asphalt and crushed his back with their knees, and he suffocated to death like George Floyd,” Terrence told the Korea Daily.
According to testimony during the trial, Jung was only “cursing” at the time.
The Korea Daily reviewed all of the security footage of the nearly 50-minute incident and found no evidence of an unarmed Jung posing a physical threat to bystanders or security personnel.
On the other hand, the casino’s defense lawyers refuted the plaintiff’s claims.
“The allegation that Mr. Jung was unable to breathe is not true,” defense attorney Joshua Bordin-Wosk said, “He died from methamphetamine, as the medical examiner’s report shows.”
If the jury finds in favor of the plaintiffs in the trial, the casino faces a staggering over $100 million in damages.
At the court, Jung’s father, Jung Sik Jung, 82, saw the footage of his son choking to death while being chased by security guards for the first time. The deceased’s sister, Vanessa Jung, took her own life last year after the shock of seeing the video.
“I watched the video during the trial and was shocked beyond words,” Jung said in a phone call with the Korea Daily on June 20, adding, “I now understand how difficult it must have been for my daughter to watch the video.”
“The tragedies that Asian people suffer are often not seen or heard,” Min Nguyen, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, told the Korea Daily, “and the tragedy of the Jungs losing their two children as a result of the casino’s actions must be known to the public and justice must be restored.”
Previously on June 14, the Korea Daily sent an inquiry to the defendant, Bicycle Casino, asking for its position regarding the case.
A representative from Bicycle Casino responded on June 20 saying, “We are currently in a trial and cannot answer the inquiry.”
Since the trial began, court news outlet CVN and gambling news outlet Gambling News have been reporting on the case since June 18.
The AAPI Advisory Board of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is also closely watching the trial.
“We’ve been following the trial and watching the whole process,” said AAPI Advisory Board Chair Esther Lim. “From what we’ve seen in the trial, Jonathan Jung only said the word ‘Fxxx,’ but that led to killing someone?” she said.
The incident happened on July 24, 2021, at around 3:57 p.m. in the parking lot of the Bicycle Casino. Five casino security guards drove Jonathan Jung, who was leaving the casino without resistance after being asked to leave, to a corner of the parking lot, where they knocked him down, handcuffed him, and pressed him with their knees to death.
BY YEOL JANG, HOONSIK WOO [jang.yeol@koreadaily.com]
