Kuanchung Kao was a 33-year-old Taiwanese-born microbiologist who died on April 29, 1997, in Rohnert Park, California. He had been celebrating a new job at the Cotati Yacht Club and got into two bar altercations that night; the bartender sent him home in a taxi and later neighbors called 911 after he was seen waving a wooden stick in the street in front of his driveway with a blood alcohol level of 0.23%.

Officers Mike Lynch and Jack Shields responded. Lynch was struck by the stick against his patrol car and waited for backup. Officer Shields, a 25-year veteran, arrived and, after repeated commands that Kao drop the stick, fired one shot that struck Kao in the upper torso and caused his death. The Sonoma County District Attorney later ruled the shooting justifiable. Kao’s family sued the city of Rohnert Park and the case was settled for $1 million. The U.S. Department of Justice conducted an eight-month investigation and declined to bring federal criminal charges, citing insufficient evidence of civil rights violations.

The shooting prompted significant controversy and outrage within the Asian American community, with many alleging excessive force and racial bias. If anyone knew Kuanchung Kao or witnessed the events that night, please share what you remember.