Paul Ellertson, staff writer
On Feb. 11, 2023, St. Paul Police were called to an apartment building on Western Ave S. According to CBS News, there had been reports of a man allegedly threatening people with a knife in the building. The man, identified later as 65-year old Yia Xiong, was walking into his apartment holding a long knife when Officers Abdirahman Dahir and Noushue Cha arrived on the scene.
As Xiong walked into his apartment, Dahir and Cha kicked the door back open and then began shouting at him to come out. Xiong tried approaching the officers as they shouted at him with the knife still in his hand while the officers were completely unaware that Xiong did not speak any English and was partially deaf. According to CBS News, Dahir fired his rifle at Xiong, followed by Cha deploying his taser. Xiong was pronounced dead at the scene, dying from multiple gunshot wounds.
Now over a year later, Xiong’s family and St. Paul’s Hmong community were left with great pain and feelings of distress after it was announced on March 20 that Officer Dahir would not be charged for Xiong’s death. According to the Sahan Journal, the ultimate decision being that Dahir’s use of deadly force was lawful under the state of Minnesota.
My father, Yia Xiong, deserved better. My widowed mother deserves better. My children deserve better. We all deserve a system that protects the most vulnerable among us.
mai tong xiong, Yia xiong’s daughter
At a press conference on March 27, Xiong’s family said they would like to meet with Ramsey County Attorney General John Choi and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Elison, who made the decision, to discuss changes needed in police policy. According to the Sahan Journal, the family and community members are asking to expand police training to be more inclusive to non-English speakers and those with disabilities.
“Our community deserves better,” said Mai Tong Xiong, Yia Xiong’s daughter, in a quote from the Sahan Journal. “My father, Yia Xiong, deserved better. My widowed mother deserves better. My children deserve better. We all deserve a system that protects the most vulnerable among us.”
Immediately following Xiong’s death in 2023, cries for accountability from St. Paul’s Hmong community and protests were quick to come for the St. Paul Police Department. According to the Sahan Journal, on Feb. 26, 2023, protesters gathered outside the St. Paul Police Western District office demanding an end to the police violence with chants of “Hmoung Lives Matter” and “I’m Deaf Don’t Shoot.” A Justice for Yia Xiong Campaign was also made and continues to call for justice alongside Xiong’s family.
“The St. Paul Police Department’s policies and training permit too much use of violent force,” says the founder of the Justice for Yia Xiong Campaign Snowdon Herr in a quote from the Sahan Journal. Herr then added that the effort to seek justice for Xiong will not stop. This has again renewed calls to put an end to police violence, and a start to police reform.
According to the Sahan Journal, since the incident, Xiong’s family have not only demanded the officers be prosecuted but also fired. They have also demanded the release of all the footage from the police. According to the Sahan Journal, John Choi’s office has stated that while they are open to meeting with Xiong’s family to discuss further, the date has yet to be determined.