Parents in Los Angeles’ Koreatown called for mental health help in the middle of their son’s bipolar episode this month.
The video, which Los Angeles police uploaded to YouTube last Thursday, captured the encounter between officers and Yang.
Myung Sook Yang said she initially called the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health about her son on the morning of the shooting.
The Mental Health Department declined to comment on the case but provided a statement about circumstances in which field-based staff members would request law enforcement support.
“Our field intervention teams are trained to de-escalate mental health crises without law enforcement involvement,” the statement said.
On the day of the incident, after the couple called the Mental Health Department, personnel arrived and took little time to understand Yong Yang’s symptoms, his father said.
“No politician, no police said anything to me except that ‘I’m sorry for your loss’ for 16 days,” Yang said. »
