The family of Yong Yang gathered outside the federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, May 2, 2026, to file a federal civil-rights lawsuit they say is aimed at the city and the LAPD over his death during a 2024 mental-health call. Marking the second anniversary of the shooting, they held a vigil, then announced the complaint before a crowd of supporters and other families who say they have lived through similar cases, casting the lawsuit as part legal action and part push to change how first responders handle people in crisis.
In a press release, attorney Dale K. Galipo wrote that the complaint accuses the city of "maintain[ing] an unlawful custom, policy, and practice of forcing entry" into homes during mental-health incidents and argues that LAPD de-escalation training falls short, according to ABC7. Galipo said the case is designed to spotlight those alleged failures and to spur reforms in how law enforcement and mental-health professionals respond together.
Family Says They Called Mental-Health Responders, Not Police
Yang's parents say that on May 2, 2024, they reached out to the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health after their son entered a severe bipolar episode, expecting a clinical response rather than an armed one. They say a DMH clinician then called in LAPD officers, who forced their way into the home and fatally shot Yang, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. The family rejects the clinician's version of events and argues that officers should have relied on less-than-lethal options while Yang was in crisis, contending that the clinician's evaluation was brief and did not justify treating the situation as an armed standoff.
Police Account And The Commission's Findings
The LAPD has said Yang held a large kitchen knife when officers entered and that one officer fired after deciding he posed a threat. Body-worn camera footage released earlier shows Yang with a knife, LA Public Press reported. In April 2025 the Board of Police Commissioners criticized some of the tactics that led up to the shooting but ultimately ruled that the use of deadly force complied with department policy, a decision that prompted sharp pushback from the family and community advocates. The commission ordered tactical debriefs for the officers involved and stopped short of recommending additional discipline.
What The Lawsuit Alleges
The federal complaint, relying on the family's press release, claims the city "ratifies unlawful killings" by sending armed officers to mental-health calls and by failing to provide sufficient de-escalation training, according to ABC7. At the courthouse, Yang's twin brother, Yin, told the crowd, "He needed you to escort him to the hospital. Not kill him inside his own parents' house," ABC7 reported. The family is also pushing for the release of full body-worn camera footage and for accountability in the departmental policies that govern mental-health responses.
Legal Context And Next Steps
Federal civil-rights lawsuits over police conduct commonly proceed under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and can include municipal "Monell" claims when plaintiffs say a city policy or custom caused the harm, a doctrine set out in the Supreme Court's Monell decision and summarized by legal resources such as Oyez. The Yang family's lawyers have already moved in state court to obtain officer personnel files and other records, a step that could shape federal discovery battles over documents and personnel information, according to MyNewsLA. If the federal case goes forward, it is likely to involve extended fights over records and depositions, possible settlement talks, and a timeline that could run for months or even years.
The lawsuit folds into broader calls in Los Angeles for non-armed responses to some mental-health emergencies and for faster rollout of co-response teams and training reforms, trends highlighted in coverage by the Los Angeles Times. Advocates say the Yang case will be closely watched as a test of whether litigation can speed up changes in how police and mental-health workers coordinate during crises.
