This is the summary of the article by Libor Jany, Staff Writer of the LA Times on April 10, 2025. For the full version of the original article, please visit https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-04-10/lapd-police-commission-koreatown-shooting
On April 9, 2025, the Los Angeles Police Commission publicly announced its decision regarding the fatal police shooting of Yong Yang, a 40-year-old Korean American man who was experiencing a mental health crisis when he was shot and killed by LAPD officers in his Koreatown apartment on May 2, 2024. The Commission concluded that while Officer Andres Lopez’s use of deadly force was “within policy,” the tactics he used leading up to the shooting were not.
The vote was split, with the five-member Commission voting 3–2 on the justification of tactics, reflecting the complexity and divisiveness of the case. The panel largely adopted the recommendations of LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, who had reviewed the internal Force Investigation Division (FID) report. While the Commission and Chief McDonnell agreed that the shooting itself complied with department rules, they found that Officer Lopez had used poor tactics in his approach, failing to contain the situation or use de-escalation techniques. Specifically, concerns were raised over how quickly Lopez resorted to lethal force and whether he had sufficiently considered alternatives like using a less-lethal weapon or retreating.
Yong Yang’s killing occurred after his mother called for mental health support for her son, who was showing signs of a severe bipolar episode. A clinician from the Department of Mental Health had arrived and soon called for police backup after observing Yang’s behavior. Officers arrived at the apartment and soon encountered Yang holding a kitchen knife. Body-worn camera footage showed that Yang did not respond to commands to drop the knife and began walking toward Officer Lopez, who then fired three shots within just over one second. Yang died on the scene. This was not Lopez’s first shooting involving a mentally ill person; his record includes at least one prior fatal incident under similar circumstances.
During the public meeting, Yang’s mother, Myung Sook Yang, gave a powerful emotional statement condemning the LAPD for failing her family and turning what should have been a welfare check into a deadly encounter. She reiterated that she had called for help, not a violent intervention. Community members, particularly from the Korean American community, also criticized the LAPD’s decision-making and called for systemic reforms in how the department handles mental health emergencies.
The Commission’s decision has further deepened mistrust between the LAPD and community groups, especially among Asian Americans and mental health advocates who believe the department continues to lack the proper training and protocols for handling such crises. Civil rights attorneys representing the family said they are pushing forward with a wrongful death lawsuit and continue to demand transparency, accountability, and reform from the city. The incident has become a rallying point for broader calls to reassess the LAPD’s use-of-force policy, particularly in incidents involving people with mental illness.