LYNWOOD : Task Force on Race Is Revived After Shooting

Lynwood officials have reactivated a race-relations task force and have set up a telephone hot line in the wake of a recent incident in which a Korean American grocer shot a Latino youth after an alleged shoplifting incident.

The task force, which has about 50 members, has passed out green “peace” ribbons and said it will soon hold public hearings on improving race relations. Also planned are seminars in which Korean merchants and other ethnic groups can learn more about their cultural differences and lessen the chance of confrontations based on misunderstanding.

Mayor Paul Richards and City Councilman Louis Heine are among the task force members.

City employees will field calls on the hot line at (310) 886-0432 and compile comments for the City Council.

Councilman Robert Henning criticized the task force, accusing Richards and Heine of seeking publicity.

Heine said the task force represents “a positive approach to stem the tide of violence” in Lynwood and other cities.

The task force was revived after grocery store owner Michael Kim shot a 14-year-old Latino youth in the chest April 2 after an alleged shoplifting. Kim said that either the youth or a companion took a 49-cent bag of cookies from the store on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Kim gave chase. He said he fired his gun after the youth reached into his waistband, as if for a weapon, and as the other boy drew a knife.

Sheriff’s deputies said they found no evidence that the wounded youth was armed. He was released recently from Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center.