Los Angeles, CA – The Philippine American Bar Association (PABA) is saddened by the December 2015 fatal shooting of Mharloun Saycon, a Filipino-American resident of Carson. PABA, which serves the Filipino-American community in Southern California, extends our condolences to the Saycon family, and we eagerly await the results of the Long Beach Police Department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office’s investigations into this tragic incident.
Mr. Saycon was at Looff’s Lite-A-Line Casino Game of Skill in Long Beach on December 14, 2015. LBPD officers arrived at the business in response to a report that Mr. Saycon had a knife. During the incident, the police used a taser and police baton on Mr. Saycon. Ultimately, the police shot Mr. Saycon while he was sitting down, and he died at the scene.
Mr. Saycon’s family has filed a claim with the City of Long Beach alleging that the officers used excessive force. The LBPD has stated that Mr. Saycon refused to comply with the officers’ instructions to drop the knife. However, Mr. Saycon’s family claims that the officers’ use of deadly force was unnecessary because Mr. Saycon was not threatening, remained seated, and did not fight back against the officers.
The conflicting accounts about why the LBPD fatally shot Mr. Saycon demand a thorough and impartial investigation by the LBPD and the LA County District Attorney’s Office, both of whom are currently conducting reviews of the shooting. PABA is always saddened by the death of a community member. It is our ardent hope that the relevant federal and state agencies conduct a thorough and independent investigation of this unfortunate event.
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Based in Southern California, PABA is the largest local association of Filipino-American lawyers in the United States. Comprised of attorneys, judges, and law students, PABA aims to strengthen, educate, and support our community through advocacy, legal clinics, pro bono legal services, continuing education seminars, mentoring programs, and scholarships.
To learn more about PABA, visit www.pabala.org, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter (@PhilAmBarAssn) and Instagram (@philambarassn).
