Vigil will honor alum killed by O.C. police
By Samantha Bryson
Feb. 27, 2008 11:22 p.m.
A vigil will be held in Bruin Plaza in honor of UCLA alumnus Michael Sungman Cho, aged 25, who was shot and killed by Orange County police officers during an alleged incident of vandalism two months ago.
Friends of Cho, who graduated in 2005, will speak about him alongside members of the Korean Community Lawyers Association and former Los Angeles Police Commander Paul Kim.
The vigil, which will start at 7 p.m., is cosponsored by the Korean American Students Association, Queer Alliance and the Asian Pacific Coalition.
Kelly Liao, a UCLA alumna and longtime friend of Cho, was one of the organizers behind this evening’s event.
“We don’t want him to be just another statistic, another shooting that gets swept under the rug,” Liao said.
Hoping to attract mainstream media to the vigil, Liao said she expects to see roughly 300 people turn out in support throughout the evening.
Following the scheduled speakers, there will be an open microphone for anyone wishing to speak, and T-shirts will be distributed to help publicize what organizers of the vigil believe was a wrongful death.
Cho was shot on New Year’s Eve by police officers responding to complaints of vandalism in a liquor store parking lot in La Habra, a community in Orange County. Cho was holding a tire iron and allegedly made aggressive movements toward the officers when they instructed him to put it down, at which point they fired their weapons.
Liao said she was in shock when she first found out about Cho’s death and said Cho had a kind and generous nature.
“My reaction has changed throughout the past two months. After I found out he was shot over 10 times, I became extremely angry. That’s excessive,” Liao said.
Liao said she will continue to educate people about Cho’s death until it is properly recognized.
“Right now it’s small, and mostly just online Korean media have been writing about Mike’s death. Our goal is to get a federal investigation started,” Liao said.
Over 1,300 people have signed a petition to incorporate federal officials, whom petition organizers said would be impartial, in the investigation of Cho’s death.
Liao said she worries that if the investigation is conducted on a local level, it could drag on for years.
On Feb. 22, more than 200 people gathered in front of La Habra City Hall and marched to the parking lot where Cho died.
Jason Chi, a high school friend of Cho’s who attended the Feb. 22 vigil, will be in attendance this evening.
“There are a lot of Korean communities really speaking out,” Chi said.
John Ahn, president of the Korean-American Federation of Orange County, said he would like to display the power of the Korean community through its efforts on behalf of Michael Cho.
“We are so angry. We think that Michael Cho was innocent,” Ahn said.
“We are asking and demanding the City of La Habra to investigate quickly and fairly,” he added.
Through all the petitions, investigations and vigils, Chi said he hopes some kind of resolution can be achieved for Cho and his family.
“The goal is to let people know what happened out there, that cops can make mistakes and this could be one of them,” Chi said.
