Kim Nguyen Latest Victim of LAPD’s Olympic Division

LAPD victim Kim Nguyen

This is Kim Nguyen a few moments after she “fell” out of an LAPD patrol car in the early hours of March 17, 2013. Her left bra strap is broken and top of her dress is pulled down to her waist.

Her jaw was shattered. She lost most of her front teeth. She had to be put in a medically induced coma because of bleeding to her brain. When she awoke days later, she found bruising on the inside of her thighs.

This is what she looked like two hours before she met the LAPD.

Kim Nguyen: LAPD Brutality Victim

What happened? After a night out in Koreatown, Nguyen and two male friends were waiting in a restaurant parking-lot for a designated driver to pick them up. Two LAPD officers drove by in a marked patrol car, stopped, and approached Nguyen.

After briefly questioning Nguyen and her friends, the officers left, but circled back, as Nguyen was running across the street toward a late-night cafe. She was then arrested for public intoxication on 6th Street between Oxford Avenue and Serrano Avenue. The officers refused to tell her friends where exactly she was being taken. Her friends were told they would need to call the police department to locate her.

On their way to taking her to jail, right after the patrol car passed through Olympic & Grand in downtown, Nguyen allegedly jumped or fell out.

What you see in the screenshot above is her on the street… That bruising on her face, the broken bra strap, and the pulled-down top of her dress were supposedly because of the fall.


The arresting officers have been identified as David E. Shin (신은총) and Jinseok Oh (오진석) of Olympic Division.

No one had any idea what happened on March 17 until the surveillance video was uncovered.

Unlike most other victims in the Koreatown area over the years who are undereducated or undocumented or have been made to disappear, Miss Nguyen has enough resources and cognizance of her rights to pursue legal suit. It was also very fortunate that video footage turned up that blatantly contradicted the official lies.

Miss Nguyen has a bachelor’s degree from UCLA and an MBA from Loyola Marymount University. She is still facing many surgeries as a result of the trauma of that night.

If you have information on this case or on other victims of LAPD’s Olympic Division, email policeabuse [@] koreatownla.org


TIMELINE OF EVENTS

March 17, 2013

The incident occurs. Paramedics say when they arrived, Ms. Nguyen was in handcuffs and sprawled on the street. The officers tell paramedics she fell out of their vehicle as they accelerated 10 mph from a stop at the traffic-lights intersection.

March 18

A family member of Ms. Nguyen files a citizen complaint with the LAPD.

Ms. Nguyen has been placed in a medically induced coma to prevent the bleeding from damaging her brain. She is in a coma for six days. When she awoke, she found bruises all over her body, including the inside of her thighs. Her jaw is wired shut for two months to allow it to heal.

June 19

LAPD’s Legal Affairs Division informs Internal Affairs of a “claim for damages” filed on behalf of Ms. Nguyen. Such action is understood to be a precursor to a civil lawsuit.

July 3

A civil lawsuit is filed by Ms. Nguyen’s lawyers at the Los Angeles Superior Court.

September 1

No movement on LAPD’s part. Ms. Nguyen’s lawyer goes public with a video that clearly shows the officers had lied in their statements to the paramedics.

LAPD tells the media that the department is nearing the end of their internal investigation, which they claimed to have initiated in March.

December 6

In a sworn deposition, Ms. Nguyen says one of the officers was groping her in the back of the patrol car in the minutes before she ended up on the pavement. Specifically, he was grabbing at her breasts, yanking at her ear to get her to face him, and pulling the inside of her left thigh, presumably to get her to open her legs.

January 9, 2014

No movement on LAPD’s part.

Ms. Nguyen’s lawyer informs the media that she was deposed by the city attorney’s office in December. A video clip is aired that shows her talking about the officer’s attack on her person.


LATEST UPDATE

August 5, 2015

The L.A. City Council discusses the Kim Nguyen case in closed session, referring to it in public records as a “traffic accident that occurred on March 17, 2013.”


 

UPCOMING COURT DATES IN THE CIVIL CASE

Jury Trial: November 1, 2016.

07/07/2016 at 08:30 am in department 92 at 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Scheduled Jury Trial

05/17/2016 at 08:30 am in department 92 at 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Jury Trial – rescheduled

05/20/2016 at 01:30 pm in department 92 at 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Motion for Bifurcation


There have been no reports of either David E. Shin (신은총) or Jinseok Oh (오진석) being taken off the field since 2013. Locals have spotted them on regular duty, patrolling the streets of Koreatown and Pico-Union, pulling over women for alleged violations of the law.

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