The shooting of Michael Sungman Cho occurred on December 31, 2007, in the Orange County city of La Habra, California.
[2][4] The same person called in an hour later to report that the man in question was at Walnut Avenue and Whittier Boulevard and had a tire iron.
The relevant clip shows the two officers, Pete DiPasqua and John Jaime, with two guns drawn; Cho walked towards them and brought his right hand to his mouth.
[7] The officers involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave, and the department planned to convene an internal review panel to look into the death.
[3] Cho's death was the second Orange County officer-involved shooting in two days; on the morning of January 30, police responding to a domestic violence call shot a man in the abdomen after he allegedly lunged at them with a knife.
In June 2008, the Orange County district attorney's office announced that their investigation concluded that the killing was a justifiable homicide, and that no charges would be filed.
[9][10] Cho's family hired Shelley Kaufman and Pat Harris, attorneys with the firm of high-profile criminal defense lawyer Mark Geragos, to represent them and were reportedly considering a lawsuit against the La Habra Police Department.