Yia Xiong's family demands action after St. Paul officers aren't charged in his death
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A grieving family is continuing to demand action after law enforcement officials declined to press charges in last year's police-related shooting death of 65-year-old Yia Xiong.
Xiong was fatally shot on Feb. 11, 2023, by Officer Abdirahman Dahir, who had responded to a 911 call that a man had been threatening people with a large knife at a child's birthday party.
RELATED: St. Paul officer won't face charges in shooting death of Yia Xiong, 65
Body camera footage shows Dahir and his partner, Officer Noushue Cha, confront Xiong outside his apartment. Xiong, who didn't speak English and was partially deaf, appeared to ignore the officers' demands and tried to enter his apartment. The officers stopped him, and footage shows Xiong approach them with a 16-inch traditional Hmong knife before Dahir opened fire.
Ramsey County Attorney John Choi and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced last week they would not press charges against Dahir or Cha after examining the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's report, saying the use of force was lawful.
"Our determination in this case is and must be based on what the law requires, and it is a responsibility we take with the greatest seriousness even as we hold the victim and his family in our hearts and minds," Ellison said.
Xiong's daughter, Mai Tong Xiong, and other family and community members held a press conference on Wednesday to demand investigators release all the evidence and unedited body camera footage.
"It's very, very devastating for us, knowing that he's no longer here, and the way that he went is even worse for us," Tong Xiong said. "I still have his phone number saved on my phone. But yeah, I don't get no call from him. So it's been very, very tough."
Xiong's family also wants to meet with local leaders to discuss changes to prevent this from happening again.
St. Paul City Councilmembers Anika Bowie, Mitra Jalali and Nelsie Yang jointly condemned the decision not to press charges last week, echoing the family's call for all footage and evidence to be released.
