HomeAsian AmericansFamily of Vietnamese Man Fatally Shot by Sheriff's Deputy Files Lawsuit
Don't Be Fooled by Gift Card Scams

Family of Vietnamese Man Fatally Shot by Sheriff’s Deputy Files Lawsuit

Tommy Le
Photo: Career Link

The family of Vietnamese American Tommy Le has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against King County, claiming that “racially selective police practices” played a role in Le’s death and that the Sheriff’s Office had lied in official documents surrounding the circumstances of the incident, reports The Seattle Times.

Aspiring firefighter Tommy Le, then 20 years old, was fatally shot by a King County sheriff’s deputy in June 2017. The lawsuit claims that the Sheriff’s Office lied in official documents saying that Le had a knife and lunged at deputies.

During a news conference Tuesday morning, attorney Jeff Campiche claimed the Sheriff’s Office “absolutely knew” Le did not have a knife within seconds after the shooting, yet they still told the public and family members otherwise. Campiche also accused deputies of intentionally concealing from their police reports that two of the three bullets that struck Le hit him in the back.

“It’s hard to be shot in the back if you’re lunging at the police officer that shot you,” Campiche said. The lawyer claimed that the Sheriff’s Office “looked very hard for a knife” but couldn’t find one. He also mentioned that it’s still not clear as to whether the pen found near Le’s body after the shooting was actually his.

The lawsuit mentions that Le was “suffering from some type of mental impairment or confusion.” It contends that “racially selective police practices” caused by a lack of proper training, supervision, and policies within the Sheriff’s Office contributed to the fatal shooting, violating constitutional rights.

“You ask yourself, would the police have shot a white kid in Magnolia under these circumstances? Probably not,” said Campiche. “We all know that to be true, we don’t want to say it, but it’s true.”

RELATED:

Le was fatally shot after authorities responded to reports of a man making threats with a sharp object. Deputies said Le refused orders to drop what they believed was a knife. They fired tasers but claimed that those did not stop him; Deputy Cesar Molina then shot Le three times, claiming that Le was moving towards him.

“I just want justice for my grandson,” Le’s grandmother, Kim Tuyet Le, said at the news conference through a translator. “He’s such a kind grandson, I miss him terribly. I just want to seek some justice for him so he can rest in peace.”

Le’s older brother Quoc Nguyen said Le had “big goals, big dreams,” and “wanted to make a positive change in the world.”

AsAmNews has Asian America in its heart. We’re an all-volunteer effort of dedicated staff and interns. You can show your support by liking our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/asamnews, following us on Twitter, sharing our stories, interning or joining our staff, or submitting a story for consideration.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Latest

Worth the Time

Must Read

Regular Features

Latest

Discover more from AsAmNews

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading