OC Korean Americans Demand Investigation into Police Killing of Young Artist

1/10/08

Orange County police shot Michael Sungman Cho, a twenty-five year old local artist, ten times in the city of La Habra on the afternoon of Dec. 31st. Police claimed that Cho was carrying a tire iron and "made a motion" as if he was going to attack an officer.

Fifty persons attended a meeting of the Korean-American Federation of Orange County to discuss the killing with the La Habra chief of police. Local Koreans were unconvinced by the police explanation and are calling for an independent investigation. “At the moment, most of the Korean-American community are getting angry,” said John Ahn, the federation's president. Others believe that this was clearly police abuse and make it clear that they will fight back.

Friends and family of Cho held a memorial outside the Seven Gold liquor store where he was shot. They cite surveillance tapes clearly showing Cho walking away from the police.

Cho attended and graduated UCLA in 2005. His friends and a former professor describe him as bright, good-natured, and kind. According to Jennifer Park, a friend, he was only 5'8," 140 pounds and had a leg disability that prevented him from walking properly. She wrote, " Money was of little importance to him and he lived his life with love and passion and expressed himself through his art.  He was not a violent man."

Supporters demanding a federal investigation of this case can email: Richard Bertsch of Orange County Korean American Coalition at friendsofmikecho@gmail.com.

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