The family of a mentally distressed man fatally shot by police is calling for a full investigation by either local or federal authorities, reports the Korea Joongang Daily.
Nine officers arrived at the home in Koreatown on May 2 after the Department of Mental Health called for assistance. Police allege Yong Yang advanced toward them with a knife before shooting him.
“We tried to do everything right to get him help,” Myung Sook Yang, his mother said while holding back tears, reported ABC7. “We called the Department of Mental Health, and instead of helping him, they invited the police into our home and they shot and killed him.”
The Los Angeles Police Department has promised a full investigation into the case, but more than a week after the shooting, the body cam footage has yet to be released and authorities have not answered the family’s questions.
“As an Asian American psychiatrist, I am devastated and heartbroken about the death of Yong Yang, and extend condolences to his family and community, said Ravi Chandra to AsAmNews. “I am reminded of the unjustified or questionable police killings of many other Asian Americans with mental illness, including Fong Lee, Cau Bich Thi Tran, Angelo Quinto, Vinh Bui, and others.
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“The Treatment Advocacy Center reported in 2015 that 25-50% of police killings involved people with mental illness. Police departments can do a lot more to deescalate mental health crises. Mentally ill people are far, far more likely to be victims of violence, including police violence, than be perpetrators.”
The family is now demanding answers and accuse the Los Angeles Police Department of a cover up.
“The police did not tell us they killed our son until over an hour later. They wouldn’t let us see his body and say goodbye,” said his mother.
They claim the police spent that hour cleaning up the scene
“They kept the parents away from the dead son and they cleaned up the apartment,” said the family’s attorney, Robert Sheahen. “They spent hour after hour sanitizing a crime scene. Any rookie officer knows that this is obstruction of justice and you can’t do it.”
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