Yia Xiong’s family ‘devastated’ by decision not to charge officer in fatal shooting

Yia Xiong’s family and Hmong community members are calling for policy changes at the St. Paul Police Department in light of prosecutors’ decision to not charge one of its officers for fatally shooting Xiong last year.

The Justice for Yia Xiong campaign is also demanding that all data related to the case be released to the family and community, including unredacted body-worn camera footage and reports from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), which investigated the case. They also ask that Ramsey County Attorney John Choi meet with them to discuss policy changes to prevent deadly force incidents, especially among non-English speaking people and those with disabilities.

Xiong’s daughter, Mai Tong Xiong, traveled from her home in Wisconsin to speak at a news conference the campaign held Wednesday afternoon in the Ramsey County courthouse. She said it causes her great pain to visit Minnesota since her 65-year-old father’s death on February 11, 2023. It “devastated” her family to wait a year for a decision that resulted in no charges, she said.

“Our community deserves better. My father, Yia Xiong, deserved better. My widowed mother deserves better. My children deserve better,” Mai Tong Xiong said. “We all deserve a system that protects the most vulnerable among us.”

Choi and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced last week that they were not filing criminal charges against officer Abdirahmin Dahir for shooting Xiong. Dahir and other officers were responding to the Winslow Commons apartment complex on a call that a resident was threatening people with a knife.

Xiong was holding a knife when he approached officers who were positioned outside his apartment, according to a summary released last week by Choi and Ellison’s offices.

Dahir shot Xiong, and another officer, Noushue Cha, fired his taser. The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office and the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office said Dahir’s use of force was legal under Minnesota law. Xiong did not speak English and was partially deaf, his family says, which made him unable to understand the officer’s commands.

Snowdon Herr, founder of the Justice for Yia Xiong campaign, said the St. Paul Police Department’s policies and training permit too much use of violent force.

“It is a profound disappointment,” Herr said regarding the decision to not file charges. “But the coalition’s work is not done yet. We will work to find justice for Yia Xiong outside of prosecution.”

A spokesperson from the BCA said now that the case is closed, all data relating to the case is undergoing a redaction process. Once that process is complete, the case file will be posted to the BCA’s website and become public. It’s unknown when that will occur.

A spokesperson from Choi’s office said in an email statement that they are “very open to meeting with the Xiong family should a request come to pass.”

St. Paul police on Wednesday reissued a joint statement that Chief Axel Henry and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter released last Friday saying they accept the findings of the investigation.

“We remain committed to the deep work of healing from this specific incident, and partnering with law enforcement and community partners alike to reduce encounters such as these, which place both public and officer safety at risk,” the statement reads in part.

Mai Tong Xiong said police should turn to deescalation techniques instead of using deadly force, and improve their awareness about disabilities.

“I hope that St. Paul can learn from this,” she said.

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