The city of Long Beach, California has agreed to pay a $2 million settlement in the 2015 fatal police shooting of a mentally ill man, reports KTLA.
Police were responding to a complaint from a video arcade that Mharloun Saycon, 39, had a pocket knife and employees needed help getting him out.
Officers ordered him to drop his knife, then shot him with a stun gun before fatally shooting him.
The Los Angeles Times reports court documents indicate that Saycon opened the blade of his knife and stood up. That’s when police say they shot him.
However, the family’s attorney says Saycon, who is mentally ill, was seated the entire time and that the knife remained on his lap.
“All we want is our son, who deserved to live,” said Khanly Saycon, Mharloun’s father. “While nothing can bring him back to us, if this case saves even just one life by holding the police more accountable for how they treat people with mental illness, that’s the most I can hope for.”
Police have not admitted wrong doing.
AsAmNews has Asian America in its heart. We’re an all-volunteer effort of dedicated staff and interns. Check out our Facebook page and our Twitter feed, Please consider interning, joining our staff or submitting a story for consideration.
RE: Family Wins $2 million settlement in Police Shooting Death: Police need to be trained in negotiation skills and screened for ptsd and trigger fingers or way too much testosterone levels.