Hi, my name is Min Yang, the father of Yong Yang. It’s been 85 days since my 40-year-old son, Yong Yang, was shot and killed by an LAPD officer who entered our home without proper legal cause at 11:53 a.m. on May 2.
Seeing my son suffering from bipolar disorder, I called the LA County Department of Mental Health to request a hospital escort. The department staff arrived a short time later and called the police in less than a minute. The LAPD officers, who arrived in multiple patrol cars, attempted to force entry and fired three shots in just 10 seconds. My wife and I were trying to get our son to the hospital, and my son Yong, who was inside the house without knowing what was happening, was shot and killed within 8 to 13 seconds of the police entering.
To this day, the LAPD says they’re conducting an internal investigation, but there’s no indication of when it will be concluded. The District Attorney’s Office, who should be holding them accountable, hasn’t made a move either. It appears that charges will be filed long after the fact, or not even at all. A young man’s resentment still remains unresolved, and my family is suffering, unable to put the grief behind.
My family and the Justice for Yong Yang People’s Committee (JYYPC) held two rallies on June 2 and July 11 to demand justice, and we are deeply grateful to everyone who came to support us.
This time, my family, the JYYPC, and the K.W. Lee Center for Leadership are calling for accountability and punishment to ensure justice, and for the strengthening of relevant regulations to prevent the recurrence of this tragedy. To that end, we are organizing a rally on July 28 to make our voices heard against the LAPD, the Department of Mental Health, the City and County of Los Angeles, and the State of California. We are desperately asking for your participation.
A few years ago, when footage of George Floyd dying on the streets of Minneapolis after he was pinned down by an officer’s knee hit the airwaves, massive protests against police brutality erupted across the U.S. As a result, the officer was arrested and indicted just four days after the incident. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was sentenced to 22 years and six months in prison. The unprecedented speed of the indictment, trial, and subsequent change in the law was entirely due to the power of people’s outrage. Without it, I don’t know if that change would have been possible.
We do not hope for so much. First, we ask that you join us in mourning the death of Yong, whose life was unjustly taken away. Second, we hope that the officials who did wrong will be punished appropriately. Third, we demand an apology and reparations from the agencies that hired, trained, and deployed them. We must hold government authorities accountable for violating the rights of citizens guaranteed by the Constitution. Fourth, we hope for a change in the mindset and behavior of those who deal with people’s lives through the overhaul of laws and regulations.
I know that nothing can bring back a child who died, but we want to at least make sure that those responsible are punished and that this will never happen again to anyone. Only then will my family be able to move on from our grief.
No life is worth less than another. Then why is it that the government and law enforcement agencies that responded so quickly to George Floyd’s death are still silent about Yong’s wrongful death?
Representatives of various other ethnic groups are making their way to this rally. But what is also important are the tears we shed together and the outrage we shout together as fellow Korean Americans. It is the family’s belief and hope that this should be the foundation.
The rally is on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, but we hope you’ll join us to honor Yong’s death so that the untimely death of a son who called Los Angeles home for 40 years is not forgotten in vain like the letters on the beach sand getting erased by the waves.
By Min Yang
The author is the father of Yong Yang.
