Cambodians Stay Silent Despite Violence : Law enforcement: Santa Ana police meet with residents to ask for help in solving fatal shooting. No one speaks out, perhaps fearing reprisals from criminals.

The Friday meeting was intended to help bridge the cultural gap between police and the local Cambodian community.

Two Santa Ana police lieutenants asked the gathering of about 20 immigrants for help in solving the fatal shooting of a 57-year-old man in his home Monday. In turn, they offered to answer any questions about crime prevention.

The people attending the meeting, some of them neighbors of the victim, listened politely but said nothing. They sat in silence, even when asked what concerns they shared since four gunmen shot Y Phauk in front of his family.

“They prey on their own community because they know you won’t step forward and identify them,” Lt. Robert Sayne told them.

“This tragedy on Monday is one thing we never want to see happen again,” Lt. Robert Helton added. “Unless the Asian community is willing to work with us, there is a good chance it will.”

Police believe that the Cambodians, like others in the Asian immigrant community, distrust law enforcement figures and fear reprisals from criminals for speaking out.

“The Asian community at large is a very, very difficult community to penetrate,” Helton said. “They look at law enforcement the way they look at the military in their home country. They don’t trust local authorities.”

Only one person, a 49-year-old man, raised his hand during the hourlong meeting.

“What can the police do” about heavy drinking and loud music in the area? the man asked through a translator. The man, who did not want to be identified, said he had called police about the problem but was too afraid to sign a complaint.

The lieutenants said that they could do nothing unless the man’s complaint was in writing.

Phauk’s 27-year-old son, Sokreoun, attended the meeting at the Neighborhood Service Center. Afterward, Phauk said he was angry with neighbors because he believes they know the gunmen responsible for killing his father.

Two weeks before the incident, many of them told counselors at the center that gang members who had harassed them in the past had been released from jail. They said they feared the men would return to their apartments looking for trouble.

“Some of the adults know and don’t want to come forward and tell the police,” Sokreoun Phauk said. “They’re scared of those guys.”

Privately, a few residents said the killing makes them fearful.

“We’re afraid of retaliation,” a 49-year-old woman said through a translator. “Almost every night there’s a shooting. Last night there was a fight. I’m scared, but I’ve lived here a long time.”

Another resident, Houn Sok, 62, said he was worried about escalating crime and would call police in the future. “I believe people will stand up and talk with the police if we can stop this thing,” he said.

Police still have few clues in the Phauk case and could not speculate on whether gang members were involved.

Four gunmen who spoke Khmer entered the Phauks’ apartment on East Bishop Street Monday night as Y Phauk, his wife, Sengly Ouk, and a guest watched television and prepared to play cards, police said. The men apparently intended to rob the family. Before fleeing empty-handed, they shot Y Phauk and his wife. She is recovering from three bullet wounds.