Less than 10 seconds after officers opened the door, police shot Yong Yang in his parents’ Koreatown home while he was holding a knife during a bipolar episode.

Less than 10 seconds after officers opened the door, police shot Yong Yang in his parents’ Koreatown home while he was holding a knife during a bipolar episode.

Parents in Los Angeles’ Koreatown called for mental health help in the middle of their son’s bipolar episode this month. Clinical personnel showed up — and so did police shortly after.

Police fatally shot Yong Yang, 40, who had a knife in his hand, less than 10 seconds after officers opened the door to his parents’ apartment where he had locked himself in, newly released bodycam video shows.

Now the parents of Yang, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder around 15 years ago, have told NBC News exclusively that they are disputing part of the account captured on bodycam, in which police recount a clinician’s saying Yang was violent before the shooting on May 2.

  • jnk@sh.itjust.works
    421·
    7 months ago

    The mere presence of a cop, even without a visible weapon, will escalate any situation regarding mentally unstable people. Period.

    If you don’t understand why a person going through a crisis would freak out when a figure of (ultimately violent) power appears right after they picked a weapon you have a serious problem with basic empathy.

    For the record, I haven’t had any bad experiences with cops, in fact every interaction I’ve had so far has been either neutral or actually pretty nice. I’ve had my fair share of breakdowns as a teenager tho, and I can assure you that a cop would’ve never helped a single time. Even the nicest one.

    • deweydecibel@lemmy.worldEnglish
      212·
      7 months ago

      Look at the report for this case, for example:

      The officers met with DMH personnel outside the residence who indicated that the DMH were called to the scene due to Yang’s erratic and threatening behavior. The officers were also advised that Yang did not live at the location, and had attempted to assault one of the DMH employees when they attempted to speak with him. Based on their assessment, DMH determined Yang was a danger to others.

      In their efforts to assist DMH personnel, the officers requested additional units, a supervisor, and notified the Department’s Mental Evaluation Unit. Several attempts were made to communicate with Yang and encourage him to exit the residence; however, he refused. After formulating a plan and obtaining a key to the residence, the officers ascended a narrow staircase leading to the front door. The officers announced their presence and then utilized the key to open the front door. As they did so, Yang was observed standing in the living room several feet away, armed with a large kitchen knife. Moments later, Yang advanced toward the officers and an Officer Involved Shooting occurred.

      Here’s the singular question:

      What was the rush?

      They needed to take him in, but they are afraid of him acting erratic and wielding a knife.

      Why the fuck do they push to enter the building? There was no one in there. He could not hurt anyone while he remained hold up inside other than himself.

      Why couldn’t they just wait him out?

      By pushing to resolve the situation immediately and forcing their way in, they *exacerbated the situation.

      I think they should have been called, but they should be there as backup in case someone is getting attacked. But no one was in danger here until they entered. There was no reason to push this. All they did was create a reason to kill him in self defense.

      • jorp@lemmy.world
        152·
        7 months ago

        You missed the options of using “less lethal” force as well, why go for live ammo immediately?

        • pearsaltchocolatebar@discuss.online
          39·
          7 months ago

          Because when someone is rushing at you with a deadly weapon, you may only get one shot, and not all ‘less lethal’ options are effective, especially on someone in a mental health crisis.

          I agree that the cops never should have entered the premises in the first place, but in this instance they did and the victim had already been a direct threat to others. This one instance really isn’t a case of cops murdering an innocent person for absolutely no reason.

          • JonEFive@midwest.social
            2·
            7 months ago

            That really depends on how you look at it. They did murder an innocent person exactly because they made the wrong decision to engage in the first place. You can’t put yourself in harms way when it isn’t necessary then blame the danger you knew about in advance.

            My opinion would be different if there was someone else in the apartment for them to defend, but there wasn’t.

            The cops made a bad call and now someone is dead.

      • brygphilomena@lemmy.world
        12·
        7 months ago

        One of my biggest complaints with police and why things escalate unnecessarily is because they are fucking impatient. They give “orders” and if you don’t comply immediately you are met with force.

        • madcaesar@lemmy.world
          8·
          7 months ago

          They are insecure, poorly educated bullies. Everything makes sense once you realize this about police in the US.

          In my town having gone and served in Afghanistan basically allowed you to become a cop once you returned states side. No degree or special training needed.

          • JonEFive@midwest.social
            12·
            7 months ago

            TBF, I’d rather a soldier show up at my door than a cop. At least soldiers are usually better trained in discipline, situational awareness, and appropriately evaluating threats. They are also trained on rules of engagement and usually aren’t terrified about every single engagement they find themselves in.

            Maybe our police would be better if they received the same level of training as soldiers. And maybe that’s it. Soldiers are more confident in their abilities because they’ve received adequate training.

            • madcaesar@lemmy.world
              1·
              7 months ago

              Dude a soldier in this case is a 20 year old grunt that joined at 18. You’re not getting 30 year old officers joining the cop force.