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.

  • NarrativeBear@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    27
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    6 months ago

    If a blind man were to ask a police officer for help crossing the road, the cop would probably shoot all the drivers.

    • Decq@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      56
      ·
      6 months ago

      Who are you kidding? They would shoot the blind man because he would be approaching with a stick like weapon

      • PriorityMotif@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        11
        ·
        edit-2
        6 months ago

        I keep seeing a video come across my feed where this actually happens. The guy has a folding cane in his back pocket and he’s walking down the sidewalk. Cops roll up and start accusing him of carrying a weapon and that he can’t be blind if he’s not actively using his cane.

        Edit: here’s the video

        https://youtu.be/SMmiMbJeJjw