Bodycam video shows deputy shooting and wounding man during disturbance near Denair
Body camera video released Wednesday shows a sheriff’s deputy shooting and wounding a Denair physician during a Nov. 8 disturbance.
Seo Myong Yang, 79, was driving a Bobcat tractor in a threatening manner when he was shot, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department said earlier.
The camera worn by Deputy Michael Wilson shows the officer firing 15 times in the direction of the tractor as it approaches him in the dark. Yang suffered at least one wound, to his leg, and faces assault charges in Stanislaus Superior Court.
The shooting happened around 6 p.m. on 1700 block of North Gratton Road, where Yang lives. Deputies had responded earlier that evening to a report that he was in the road holding a 2-by-4 board, yelling profanities and blocking vehicles.
Yang refused to talk to deputies, but his wife told them she would seek mental health counseling for him, a news release said.
Deputies returned after second call
Deputies returned about half an hour later on a report that Yang was becoming more erratic, and saw him driving the small tractor. It eventually crashed through a fence, driving onto Gratton Road and toward a deputy and a civilian, the release said.
The video shows Yang remaining in the driver seat after being shot. He appears to yell out in pain and eventually allows deputies to tend to him, including applying a tourniquet.
Yang is charged with assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a peace officer. He remained in the Stanislaus County Jail on $125,000 bail as of Wednesday. He pleaded not guilty last week in a court hearing, where he appeared in a wheelchair.
The Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office will determine whether the shooting was justified, standard protocol for officer-involved shootings. The sheriff’s Internal Affairs unit will review whether department policy was followed.
Wounded man has valid medical license
According to the California Medical Board, Yang is a physician and surgeon with a valid license that expires in October 2021.
Public records show Yang at one point worked at Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock. A hospital spokeswoman said earlier that Yang does not currently work there and did not know when or if he did previously.
Yang was arrested in January 2019 for similar belligerent behavior that resulted in a battery charge.
He was allegedly intoxicated at a Turlock billiards hall when he threw an empty beer pitcher toward his wife and grabbed an employee by the arm and moved her out of the way when she intervened.
The case was later dismissed by the District Attorney’s Office.
This story was originally published November 27, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
