The family members of Yong Yang, a Korean-American man who was shot and killed by police after requesting to be taken to a hospital, held a press conference to express their frustration over the unjustified use of force by police.
The press conference was held at the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles (KAFLA) on May 9, attended by Yang’s father (Min Yang), mother (Myung Sook Yang), and twin brother (Yin Yang), as well as three attorneys for the family, Robert Sheahen, Alison Triessl, and Ryan Kerns.
The family’s attorneys pointed to five main areas of misconduct in the case.
Sheahen, the lead attorney in the case, is a longtime criminal defense attorney and experienced litigator against the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
“The mother sought help from the Department of Mental Health for her son, and two hours later, he was shot and killed by police,” Sheahen said, emphasizing the gist of the case.
According to Sheahen, the Department of Mental Health staff was there for only two minutes before the police were called. The mother went straight to call the police as no intervention was made even though she had called twice in two days, he explained.
It took nine officers to subdue one mentally ill person.
The officers spoke to his father for 20 minutes before entering the apartment and knew about Yang’s mental health history and years of treatment, he added.
Attorneys claimed that police failed to take appropriate action while Yang lay dying after the shooting.
Moreover, they pointed out that it took about 45 minutes to inform his parents of their son’s death, who were only 100 feet away.
“The police did not even tell the mother that she could come in and hold her son while he was dying,” said Sheahen, adding, “Rather, they left Yong Yang to die. There was no medical attention, no effort to help.”
There were no paramedics on the scene, according to the attorneys. “There was an ambulance to take him to the hospital, but it was not to save him from the gunshot,” said attorney Ryan Kerns. “Rather, more armed officers entered the apartment after the shooting instead of calling an emergency ambulance or mental health professional.”
“Mr. Yang was not a criminal suspect; he had no criminal history and was just a scared young man,” he said, emphasizing that “everyone at the scene was aware of his mental health condition, yet he was brutally shot to death.”
Failing to use a non-lethal weapon was blamed when the officers were already aware of Yang’s mental illness, even though there was a knife at the scene.
“In every typical apartment, there’s a knife in the kitchen. There’s no one who wouldn’t assume that,” he said, adding that “even if there was an accidental act by Mr. Yang, there were countless ways to prepare for it.”
The attorneys also pointed out that all physical evidence from the crime scene had been removed by the police.
“Every single piece of evidence at the scene including bloodstain and hair was gone,” said Sheahen, adding that “the subsequent police statement did not acknowledge the cover-up and the destruction of all available evidence.”
“We assume that the body cam was not used while cleaning up the crime scene,” he said.
The case will be turned over to the LA County District Attorney’s Office to investigate, Sheahen said, adding, “If they don’t prosecute them, we will ask the federal.”
“The police did not inform me of my son’s death, nor did they show me his body,” said Yang’s mother, Myung Sook Yang, in tears at the press conference. “I don’t know how this could have happened to my son, who was suffering from auditory hallucinations, physical pain, and bipolar disorder.”
Later in the day, LA Mayor Karen Bass expressed her condolences and called for a thorough investigation into Yang’s death.
“My thoughts are with the family, loved ones and Koreatown community mourning the loss of Yong Yang,” said Mayor Bass. “A full investigation is underway to ensure transparency and accountability for this tragedy and protocols used when responding to this incident must also be reviewed.”
BY SUAH JANG, HOONSIK WOO [jang.suah@koreadaily.com]
