The parents, who live in Los Angeles’ Koreatown, sought mental health help this month during their son’s bipolar disorder. Clinical personnel showed up, and soon after, the police showed up as well.
Newly released body camera video shows police shot and killed Yong Yang, 40, with a knife in his hand, less than 10 seconds after opening the door to his parents’ apartment where he was holed up.
Yang’s parents, who were diagnosed with bipolar disorder about 15 years ago, now told NBC News exclusively that they dispute some of the testimony recorded on the body camera, with police saying doctors said Yang had been violent before the May 2 shooting.
A video uploaded to YouTube by the Los Angeles Police Department last Thursday shows the encounter between officers and Yang. The video shows the officers demanding that Mr. Yang drop the knife he was holding, and seconds later, the officer, identified by police as Andres Lopez, shoots Mr. Yang.
Myung-sook Yang said she first called the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health about her son the morning of the shooting. Members of the county’s mental health mobile response team responded, but ultimately called police for assistance. She said she and her husband, Ming Yang, had heard Yong’s voices and wanted her to be alone in her apartment.
“The whole situation was created for him to protect himself. That’s it. He just screamed. People were trying to break in and he said, ‘You guys are not invited. ’” Ming Yang said.
The Department of Mental Health declined to comment for this story, but issued a statement regarding situations in which field staff request law enforcement assistance.
“Our field intervention teams are trained to de-escalate mental health crises without police intervention,” the statement said. “If mitigation by clinical means is not possible and the person in crisis remains an imminent threat to themselves or others despite DMH’s efforts, contact law enforcement to maintain safety and keep the peace.” To do.”
Police and Lopez declined to comment. Lopez was involved in the shooting and death of a man who was carrying a replica gun in 2021. In October 2023, the district attorney concluded that Lopez acted in self-defense when he used a deadly weapon.
The couple said their son started talking to himself and noticing voices in his head the day before the shooting. This behavior continued the next day, but did not result in violence.
But in a recording recorded on body camera video, a clinician, whose name has not been released, told police on the phone that Yong-yang’s father had said Yong had become violent.
“The father called our department because he was very violent and aggressive,” the clinician said. “We tried to engage him. He became aggressive and threatened me. I kind of backed away.” It wasn’t.
Lt. Kelly Muniz also said in the video that clinicians told her that the night before the shooting, Yongyang was screaming and talking to herself at her parents’ home, eventually forcing them out of the apartment.
“He just tried to attack me and my father,” the clinician, whose face is blurred, says in the video, before Ming Yang, whose face is also blurred, joins the conversation. “He became very aggressive. He tried to kick me. I walked away. He got into a physical altercation.”
But Mingyan said her son was not physically violent at the time of the shooting or the night before.
“He wanted to be alone. The blinds were closed. That’s how he protects himself. He knows he’s safe in his own residence or his parents’ house,” Ming Yang said. “The night before, he didn’t kick us out of the apartment. He was talking strangely. That’s why we left him alone so he wouldn’t have to interact with other people, even his parents.”
The couple called the mental health department on the day of the incident, and staff arrived, but it took little time for them to understand Yong Yang’s condition, her father said. Ryan Casey, the Yang family’s lawyer, said staff spent less than two and a half minutes assessing and supporting Yong Yang before calling the police.
Ming Yan, who was standing between her son and the clinician, added that she did not witness any kicking or physical violence, only screaming.
“Maybe the man felt threatened, but I don’t think his son threatened him,” he said. “If a mentally ill person was trying to barge in behind me and I was threatened with a comment like that, he needs to learn more.”
After speaking with the clinician and Ming Yang, the video shows the officer trying to persuade Yang to leave the apartment. When that didn’t work, the officers called for backup and descended the apartment stairs.
Body camera video taken by a police supervisor who arrived about 19 minutes later shows her telling Mingyan that she could not take Yongyan to the hospital unless he was a threat.
“Threats are a danger to yourself and others,” Ming Yan told the supervisor in the video.
Casey, the family’s attorney, said Yang was referring to Law 5150, which states that people who are mentally ill and who “pose a danger to others or themselves” can be detained. Stated.
“We believe there is much more to this conversation than the edited footage released by the LAPD and require full disclosure of all body camera footage by all officers. I’m thinking about it,” Casey said.
The video also shows the supervisor warning Mingyan that they may have to use their hands to remove Yongyan. It then shows another attempt to pull Yongyan out of the apartment. When he refuses to let them in, the supervisor tells a fellow officer, “We’re going to use force.”
Later, more videos show several police officers returning to the apartment stairs. When the police officer unlocked the apartment, Yong Yang was standing in the living room holding a kitchen knife. The officers shouted at him and demanded that he drop the knife. When Yang saw the officers holding a knife in one hand and the other raised, he quickly backed away. He then walks towards them. After a few seconds, Lopez fired several shots at Yan, who quickly fell to the ground.
“The officers ordered Yan to drop the knife. However, he did not comply with the officers’ commands and continued to advance toward the officers, resulting in an officer-involved shooting,” Muniz said in the video. Told. “Mr. Yang dropped the knife after being shot and was subsequently taken into custody.”
Body camera video also shows several officers handcuffing Yang, unable to move.
The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the scene and pronounced Yang dead, police said in a news release. Yang died from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the county coroner’s report.
Yang’s father said he did not expect police to resort to shooting so quickly.
“I gave them the keys so they can deal with the situation peacefully and quickly,” he said, adding that they were trying to calm him down and take him to the hospital. Deaf added.
Ming Yang said she was not given details about what happened in the apartment until later, and that law enforcement did not directly inform her that her son had been shot. One of the officers hinted at Yongyan’s death, saying, “It’s a shame that he passed away,” Minyan said. He added that another police officer tried to persuade him by saying things like “Police work is really difficult” and “Don’t make a fuss.” Ming Yan said law enforcement did not directly explain to his family what happened.
“For 16 days, neither the politicians nor the police said anything to me other than ‘I offer my condolences,'” Yang said.
Yang Min and Yang Myung Suk are calling for an independent investigation and the release of all evidence.
“I feel so bad for my son, not just because he’s my son. He’s an individual. He was scared and was trying to protect himself from the demons in his eyes,” Min said. Yang said. “I am so sorry that he had to be forced to leave this world and his life.… How can he live the rest of his life without regrets?”
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