Hmong Youth Shot 27 times in Warren, Michigan by Police

by Terri Oshiro
3/6/07

Chonburi Xiong, an 18-year-old Hmong youth, was shot to death 27 times in his home by four Warren police officers near Detroit, Michigan in September 2006. Detroit’s Asian American and civil rights community believes this shooting is a result of racial discrimination and police brutality. It has sparked the Asian American community in Detroit to activism and organizing. Stephanie Chang, a mentor with the Detroit Asian Youth Project, a non-profit organization working with Hmong teens to build leadership skills and community awareness said, "No teenager deserves to be shot by the police 27 times in his own home."

At a February ’07 Community Forum and Memorial Service organized by an ad hoc coalition for Justice for the Xiongs, Chonburi’s father, Pang Blia Xiong, stated that, "I ask everyone who is a parent, 'If you lost your child in this manner, wouldn’t you be searching for answers? Wouldn’t you do everything you could to see if your child’s death could have been avoided?' My wife and I have filed our complaint because we want the court and the public to take a closer look at the facts of this case."

The Xiong family filed a $5 million dollar lawsuit against the city and four police officers for violation of Chonburi’s civil rights, intentional misconduct, and gross negligence.

Police reports and the Xiong family’s account of the incident vary. The police say that the Xiong family called the police on September 16, reporting that Chonburi shot into the ceiling of their house when the parents denied him use of the family car. According to Vince Colella, the Xiong family’s lawyer, the police entered the house without a search or arrest warrant or receiving permission from the family, snuck into the basement where Chonburi was, and ambushed him.

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