Adoptee Killed in Police Standoff

“On December 30, [2020]Christian Hall,19, was killed by Pennsylvania State Police in Monroe County during a suicidal episode. The Chinese American adoptee went through a protracted standoff, and was carrying a non-lethal weapon. Police recently ruled the killing was justified.

Updates ran in local papers, and circulated on social media, but the story did not break through onto a national stage.

As recent attacks against Asian Americans have pushed incidents of racism and violence experienced by the community into the spotlight, activists are hoping to use that attention to raise the profile of Hall’s case around Pennsylvania — connecting it to other high-profile deaths at the hands of police.

“We just felt that people should know more about this incident,” said Sarah Kim, one of the founders of Philly Asians 4 Liberation & Mutual Solidarity (PALMS), a group which recently held a vigil in South Philadelphia for Hall.

On the day he died, Hall called 911 to report a possible suicide attempt. The young man then walked Route 33 where it crosses I-80 in Monroe County. Several state troopers arrived, and blocked the area off while trying to talk him down from the concrete ledge. Police released edited dashcam footage from two vehicles, and there is also bystander video.

After an hour and a half, Hall walked haltingly towards them with his arms overhead. He carried what appeared to be a gun in his left hand, and the troopers opened fire. The first time, they missed him. When he continued shuffling forward, they shot again, killing Hall. The weapon turned out to be an airsoft pellet gun.

The use of deadly force in this case was justified, according to the DA’s office, because the officers did not know the weapon Hall carried wasn’t lethal, and because he failed to follow officers’ orders. “It’s a testament to the troopers that they didn’t shoot sooner,” said First Assistant District Attorney Michael Mancuso during a press conference.

The family and its supporters reject this decision, saying it amounts to blaming the victim.
“You have a victim of gun violence, police brutality, and you also have a youth that is suffering from mental health [crisis],” said Kim. They connected those circumstances to the death of Walter Wallace Jr., a Black man with known mental illness who was killed by Philadelphia police last summer.

In the case of Hall, relations between law enforcement, his family, and activists have appeared strained. During last week’s press conference, Mancuso shared that the family had rebuffed invitations to help the investigation. He also accused Hall’s attorneys, Ben Crump and Devon Jacob, of spreading false narratives.

The previous month, the family held a press conference outside of the state police barracks in Stroudsburg, saying they planned to file a federal civil suit.

Attempts to reach the family were not successful by publication. Crump has represented the families in many high-profile police shooting cases, and along with Jacob is representing George Floyd’s family.

Activists and the family’s supporters say they have more actions planned, because they want to continue the current trend of mobilizing for victims of violence in the Asian American community.”

After Atlanta murders, greater scrutiny of police killing of Asian American man in Poconos/
[WHYY 4/6/21 by Laura Benshoff]

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