New Year's Eve police shooting angers Korean Americans

The killing of the UCLA graduate and artist has set off criticism of police not heard in Southern California's Korean American community since the 1992 Los Angeles riots, when shop owners complained that officers never showed up to stop looters, and they picked up guns to defend their stores.

This time, community leaders say La Habra police were too quick on the trigger when responding to a vandalism call.

"We haven't seen this expression of shock, disbelief and sadness in the community before," said Richard Choi Bertsch, of the Orange County Korean American Coalition. "All of the first-generation parents are saying, 'This could've been my kid.' " Charles Kim, a La Habra resident and past national president of the Korean American Coalition, said that "the community's mind is pretty much set that the police overreacted."

The shooting has been widely followed in the Korean-language media. Korea Times reporter John Lee called it "one of the biggest stories" and said every new development is reported "as soon as it comes in."

Three weeks after Cho's death, the Korean Community Lawyers' Assn. sponsored a meeting in Los Angeles' Koreatown, where lawyers and a former police official discussed the use of deadly force. One topic on the agenda was "Defining Police Use of Force: How to Prevent Another Korean From Being Shot." The Justice for Michael Cho committee has organized vigils at the shooting site and in front of the La Habra police station and will take a delegation to the next City Council meeting Feb. 19.

Sensing the concern, police Chief Dennis Kies asked the Orange County Human Relations Commission to arrange a meeting with community leaders in Garden Grove on Jan. 4. Executive Director Rusty Kennedy said the meeting, attended by about 30 people, was "contentious but orderly."

"There was some anger. People posed challenging questions and wanted to know why police didn't use nonlethal force," Kennedy said. "They wanted to know why the young man was shot so many times, and how would [Kies] feel if it had been his son."

The Orange County district attorney's office is investigating the shooting, but few community leaders expect the two officers involved to be punished for the 25-year-old artist's death. Authorities refused to identify the officers.