For a second week, St. Paul police killing of Yia Xiong draws protesters

A second Sunday afternoon demonstration over the shooting death of 65-year-old Yia Xiong at the hands of St. Paul police saw about 150 people marching on University Avenue near the Police Department's Western District Office and the Midway shopping area.

Xiong was killed by police in his senior-living apartment building Feb. 11. He had been acting strangely, neighbors told police, and wielded a large knife as he approached people. Police body cameras showed Xiong walked into his apartment when officers arrived and opened his door. As Xiong turned and approached police, an officer shot him.

Organizers in St. Paul's Hmong community are working with advocacy groups including Communities United Against Police Brutality and Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence. The groups demonstrated Feb. 19, and convened about 100 people in a community meeting Feb. 24, where participants voiced their growing fears of police since the shooting. Organizers say they hope to see police charged in Xiong's death and asked for an outside investigation. They said they could not understand why Xiong had been shot so quickly after police arrived at his apartment.

Protesters chanted, "I'm deaf, don't shoot," and "No English, don't shoot."

Xiong's family wonders if he did not stop and put his hands up because he didn't understand what the police were yelling at him.

Yia Xiong's younger sister, See Xiong, said her brother lost hearing in his left ear while working with artillery while he was fighting on the side of the United States in Laos. She said the hearing in his other ear was getting worse as he aged, and he likely suffered from post-traumatic stress..