On May 2, 2024, Yong Yang was experiencing a mental health crisis that was captured on bodycam when he was fatally shot at his parents’ home by Los Angeles Police Officer Andres Lopez. On the one-year anniversary of Yong’s tragic death, his family continues to mourn their loss and demand answers from the LAPD, as well as the city and county of Los Angeles, who have failed to provide full transparency or grant the release of all documents pertaining to this incident despite numerous demands to do so.
Last month, on April 8, 2025, the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners held a hearing to review the fatal incident. Despite a determination that Officer Lopez’s tactical actions in the immediate moments before shooting Yong Yang “were a substantial deviation from Department approved tactical training without justification” and that Officer Lopez’s tactics “warrant a finding of Administrative Disapproval,” the Board still found his lethal use of force to be within policy.
“In issuing its findings, the Board referenced a significant number of materials that our office has been demanding the disclosure of since Yong Yang was killed — materials that the LAPD has refused to disclose despite its promise to the public of full transparency,” said attorney Ryan Casey. “We, again, demand full disclosure of all evidence from this incident and will continue to seek its release through all legal means available to us.”
Yong Yang was not a criminal. He was not wanted for, nor killed during, the pursuit of a crime. He was a man in need of help and in the throes of a mental health crisis. In issuing its findings, the Board acknowledges that the LAPD’s System-wide Mental Assessment Response Team (SMART) was aware of and on-scene prior to the incident, but were never utilized. LAPD had the time and resources to deploy sound compassionate tactics to deescalate the situation but instead chose lethal means to end it.
May is National Mental Health Awareness month. Yong Yang was suffering from mental illness and was a member of a vulnerable population that is too often overlooked when they need help. Statistics from 2017 to 2023, show that one third of people shot by the LAPD were experiencing a mental health crisis.
“People suffering from mental health challenges require compassion, care, and assistance by the people in a position of power charged with protecting and serving their communities,” added Mr. Casey. “The LAPD knew Yong Yang was suffering a mental health crisis. He deserved compassion, care, and assistance. Instead, he was shot and killed. Yong Yang and his family deserve the truth, they deserve full disclosure, and they deserve justice. We will not rest until it obtained.”