This is the summary of the article by Libor Jany, Staff Writer of the LA Times on May 10, 2024. For the full version of the original article, please visit https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-05-10/lapd-officers-kill-mentally-ill-man-in-k-town
Before Yong Yang was shot and killed by LAPD officers inside his parents’ home in Koreatown last week, his mother had spent two days seeking help from mental health professionals.
Her son, 40-year-old Yong Yang, was going through a severe bipolar episode, according to Myung Sook Yang, his mother. To avoid police involvement, she had reached out to the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (DMH) twice before the incident, hoping for a peaceful resolution.
Tragically, just hours after she made the call, her son was dead—shot inside the family’s living room while holding a kitchen knife, according to police reports.
On Tuesday, the LAPD released its annual use of force report, revealing an increase in officer shootings. The report indicated that officers discharged their weapons 34 times last year, up from 31 incidents in 2022. This makes the LAPD the department with the highest number of shootings compared to other major U.S. cities.
Authorities partially attributed this rise to incidents like Yong’s, where individuals experiencing mental health or substance abuse crises were armed with sharp objects. These situations have posed a challenge for the department, which has been trying to find better ways to de-escalate such encounters.
At a deeply emotional press conference held Thursday at the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles, Yong Yang’s family and their legal team demanded an explanation for the DMH’s decision to call law enforcement.
Through tears, Myung Sook Yang explained her decision: “I contacted the Department of Mental Health for a reason—not the police. I wanted help, not for my son to be shot.”
“I thought they would help him and take him to the hospital,” she added. “Instead, they shot him. We need answers for how this happened.”
This is the summary of the article by Libor Jany, Staff Writer of the LA Times on May 10, 2024. For the full version of the original article, please visit https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-05-10/lapd-officers-kill-mentally-ill-man-in-k-town