The number of LAPD officer-involved shootings has climbed in 2025, raising concern over the use of live ammunition. According to the Los Angeles Times on September 10, 2025, LAPD recorded 29 such cases in 2024, five fewer than the prior year. In less than nine months of 2025, 32 shootings have already occurred. On September 10, 2025, a suspect carrying a handgun was killed in a police shooting on Parthenia Street in North Hills.
Teresa Sanchez-Gordon, the newly appointed president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, pointed out that officers are increasingly using live rounds instead of non-lethal weapons even in confrontations with people showing signs of mental illness. The May 2024 shooting death of Yang Yong by officers from the Olympic Division was cited as an example.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell did not outline a specific solution. He said the department considers tasers and rubber-bullet launchers first, but “options are limited in urgent situations,” adding that “most shootings occur during responses to 911 calls rather than during pre-planned operations.”
A lawsuit filed by Min Yang and Myung Sook Yang, the parents of Yong Yang, is moving slowly through the courts. They allege the City of Los Angeles, the LAPD, Los Angeles County, and the Department of Mental Health are responsible for their son’s death during what they described as a mental breakdown. A case management conference is scheduled for 9 a.m. on September 12, 2025, in Department 34 of the Los Angeles County Courthouse, 111 N. Hill Street, Civic Center. The family’s attorney has repeatedly criticized delays, and Min Yang said on September 11, 2025, that he hopes a trial date will finally be set, vowing to “hold the police accountable to the end.”
An earlier case illustrates the lengthy timeline for such disputes. In 2017, 70-year-old Alejandro Mendez, who suffered from mental illness, died after a standoff with police while holding a metal pipe. Officers failed to use tasers and rubber-bullet guns and had their body cameras turned off, sparking controversy. The family sued, alleging excessive force and tactical errors. On September 9, 2025, the Los Angeles City Council approved a settlement payment to the family, ending the case after eight years.
Reports show that while the number of shootings declined in 2024, the number of bullets fired nearly doubled compared with 2020, averaging more than 10 rounds per incident. Increases were most pronounced in the Southeast, North Hollywood, and Harbor areas, while the 77th, Foothill, Newton, and Rampart divisions (including Koreatown and Westlake) saw declines.
By victims’ race, Latinos accounted for 55%, Black and White individuals for 21% each, and Asians for 3%. Among officers who fired their weapons, more than half were Latino, 25% were White, and 11% were Asian.
BY KYEONGJUN KIM [kim.kyeongjun1@koreadaily.com]
