The LA Ten Four

Yong Yang’s parents requested help from the Los Angeles County of Mental Health. Instead, LAPD officers unloaded three bullets into Yang, killing him on the scene.

Yong Yang’s parents requested help from the Los Angeles County of Mental Health on May 2, 2024. Hours later, LAPD officers would unload three bullets into Yang, killing him on the scene. Yong Yang would have a knife in his hand, but Yang’s positioning makes it unclear on his intentions and the tactics of LAPD Officers on scene. Even weeks later, community organizations and Yang’s family continue to ask questions about how the shooting could have happened.

Andres Lopez was identified by LAPD as the shooter. A Police Officer II, Lopez previously shot and wounded another mentally ill man while on duty out of LAPD’s Olympic division. Nakiea Brown was waving a replica handgun.

Yang’s mother, Myung Sook Yang, told the LA Times that Yong Yang had been experiencing a severe bipolar episode for days. She’d been attempting to get her son mental health treatment and had attempted to get them to assist with her son twice over 48 hours. Once Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (DMH) assistance arrived, within hours her son was dead.  Myung Sook Yang would say at a press conference at the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles that “I called the Department of Mental Health, not the police; it was so they could help, not shoot him.” Even after officers arrived, Yang’s father, Min Yang, can be heard multiple times pleading for Yong Yang to get transported to a hospital for mental health care.

Min Yang would later say that once a DMH employee arrived it would only take two minutes before that clinician called the police. During the call to LAPD, he’d characterize Yang as “violent, very aggressive.” He later characterized the event as Yang threatening him and that the clinician stood away on. Once LAPD officers arrived, he’d state that Yong Yang attempted to kick him.

The employee belongs to the DMH’s Psychiatric Evaluation Team (PET), licensed clinicians operated by psychiatric hospitals approved by the Department of Mental Health. Their primary focus, according to the DMH, is to evaluate people for potential “5150” and “5585” holds. These are temporary involuntary detention and evaluation of individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. In a later video produced by LAPD, Captain Kelly Muniz would describe the clinician as belonging to PMRT, a similar program.

Less than two months earlier in Koreatown, DMH employees led an event at the Koreatown Senior and Community Center in Los Angeles. One of the main talking points from the DMH was to relay resources the DMH provides.

The LA Times would state that the DMH told them that their “field intervention teams are trained to de-escalate mental health crises without law enforcement involvement.” “However, this is not always possible,” the statement to the LA Times continues. “In instances where de-escalation through clinical means is not possible, and the person in crisis remains an imminent threat to themselves or others, despite DMH’s efforts, law enforcement will be contacted to maintain safety and attempt to keep the peace.”

After the PET Team clinician made the call, LAPD asked for availability for SMART (Systemwide Mental Assessment Response Team) within LAPD’s Olympic Division. LAPD’s SMART consists of co-deployment; both an LAPD Officer and DMH clinician responding to mental health-related calls. According to LAPD, there are 12 – 14 SMART units deployed on a 24/7 basis. Muniz claimed in 2021 that SMART’s co-response assists in de-escalating in situations of mental health crises.

But last year, even then-LAPD Chief Moore cast concerns about killings when there was a lack of SMART team response in all of three police killings in a period of two days. And in 2022, it was reported that SMART teams were responding to less than a third of calls involving mental health crises. 

Sam Sullivan, whose brother David was killed by Buena Park police officers protests the death of Keenan Anderson in 2023

Source: Sean Beckner-Carmitchel

The week following saw several protests throughout the city. Then-Chief Moore was under fire, and his reappointment vote saw concerns at both protests and during comments at city public comment sessions.

Even after LAPD Officers arrived and were denied entry from Yong Yang and additional officers were requested, a SMART team did not arrive.

Once LAPD Officers arrived at 11:11 AM, the PET team clinician would tell officers that an ambulance was en route. His father would tell responding LAPD Officers that he needs to go to a hospital, and repeated claims that Yong Yang was suffering from a severe mental health episode. It’s unclear when the ambulance would arrive, but by the time that an ambulance would respond to the incident they’d declare Yang Yong dead on the scene of the shooting.

Retrieving keys from Min Yang, officers would attempt to ask Yong Yang to leave the apartment or let them in. Yong Yang would refuse. They’d ask for additional units and a supervisor. They would not request a SMART team.

15 minutes later, the supervisor would arrive as well as additional LAPD units. The supervisor would tell Min Yang that her goal was to ask Yong to come out voluntarily. If he did not, the supervisor told Min Yang, they’d breach the door. If that happened, the supervisor told Min Yang, “we’re going to be involved in a use of force with him, by us putting hands on him.” Min Yang was then told by the supervisor they needed permission to arrest Yong for trespassing in case he refused to leave, and that would prevent him from being placed on the psychiatric hold which Min Yang had initially requested.

The supervisor walked up to the apartment door. Yong Yang replied that “he’d already been killed multiple times,” and told the supervisor that she “looked unpleasant.” Yang’s responses seemed to bely a confused, mental state. As the conversation went on, the supervisor then told Yang that “you don’t have options.” Yong Yang then said “good bye,” and a bang on the door is heard. “All right, we’re gonna have a use of force,” the supervisor says in the same volume as when she was attempting to negotiate. They then leave the apartment door and return to the yard in front of the apartment building.

The supervisor tells the group of officers that they’ll “wait for the RA,” and return. Approximately 18 minutes later LAPD officers would return to the front door.

An LAPD officer would turn the keys to the door, saying “Mr. Yong come out.” Yong appears to attempt to keep the door closed. Andres Lopez, a Police Officer II with LAPD, would assist shoving the door. When officers forced their way in, Yang Yong was holding what appears to be a kitchen knife as he backed away from the door. Lopez yelled at Yang Yong saying “hey, hey, hey. You’re going to get shot.” 

In the video, Yang Yong looks visibly terrified as officers are entering the home pointing guns and screaming directions at him. Ryan Casey, an attorney for the Yong family, sent a statement to ACWN which read “Yong was visibly terrified and confused about what was happening in the moments before he was killed.”

A chef’s knife which LAPD says Yong Yang was holding

Source: LAPD

A written LAPD statement would later characterize the knife as “large,” though the blade was a fairly standard size for a Chef’s knife at about six inches. They’d call it an “eleven-inch kitchen knife with a six-inch blade.” They’d also characterize the knife in an LAPD produced video as “eleven inches,” which is the size of the knife itself rather than how knives are usually measured: blade size. 

One officer, assigned with a rifle designed to shoot a foam tipped “less lethal,” bullet was at first on a landing. As the officers forced their way into the door, he walks up but at no point does he aim.

Yang Yong slowly walks to the door as officers tell him to drop the knife, then Andres Lopez shoots Yang Yong. Andres Lopez shot twice in quick succession, then after a brief pause shot him one more time. Yang Yong screams in pain, then collapses into a chair. All three shots would hit Yang Yong; two in the chest and one in the stomach.

LAPD Officers radio that an officer needs help. Yong is unresponsive, and his skin has visibly turned grey-blue. Not long after, LAPD Officers cuff Yong Yang and begin administering first aid. They shake him and cuff him and notice a “wetness.” At no point do they appear to apply pressure or explore ways to prevent a potential sucking wound despite being shot in the chest. Over the radio, you can hear a request for the ambulance. 

By noon, sirens belonging to an ambulance can be heard in the background of the video. It’s currently unclear when medical professionals actually arrived in the apartment; the LAPD produced video characterizes their arrival as “shortly thereafter.” Yong Yang would be pronounced dead on scene.

Later in a press conference, Min Yang would state they wouldn’t tell the Yang family waiting outside that their son had been shot until later.

In a written statement to ACWN, Ryan Casey would state that “Yong Yang belonged in a hospital, not a morgue. The Yang family deserved more from the city they call home. We demand a full investigation, complete transparency, and release of all evidence in this case.”

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