Driver Killed by Police Had Long Criminal Record

The 27-year-old man shot to death by police in an Orange parking lot was identified Thursday as a former Orange County resident with a criminal history, who had been the target of deportation proceedings.

Hong Il Kim returned to his native Korea after he had amassed more than a dozen criminal convictions in California from 1987 to 1992, including assault with a deadly weapon, grand theft, possession of cocaine and carrying a concealed weapon, Orange Police Sgt. Barry Weinstein said.

He also was named in bench warrants, Weinstein said, and had faced narcotics charges in Los Angeles and Orange counties. In January 1993 he was cited for driving more than 100 mph.

On Wednesday, a reckless driver in a Toyota 4-Runner caught the attention of a Westminster police officer, authorities said. The driver led authorities on a chase through four cities at speeds reaching 100 mph, sideswiping several cars on the way. The 30-minute chase ended in a shopping center at Chapman Avenue and Newport Boulevard, where California Highway Patrol officers tried to box the 4-Runner into a parking space while police surrounded it with guns drawn.

When Kim tried to run over at least two officers, they and other officers opened fire, police said.

Hong Il Kim

Kim, who was born in Korea, left Seoul in 1985 with his older brother, Hong Ki Kim, to join their parents, brother and sister in Orange County. He attended Western High School in Anaheim and helped his family operate three restaurants in Orange and Los Angeles counties, the older brother said.

But eight years and numerous criminal convictions later, he returned to Korea to start anew with a management position at a moving company, his family said. About the same time, efforts to deport him were halted, but the reason was not immediately ascertainable, Immigration and Naturalization Service officials said Thursday.

Richard Rogers, INS district director, said he found references in Kim’s records to two petty thefts, including one open case. Those charges, Rogers said, were not serious enough to be used as a basis for deportation.

“There is a lot of reasons why we would not continue,” Rogers said. “It could be that he just was not deportable. There are certain crimes that have to be committed in a certain amount of time before we can try to deport somebody.”

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Orange police said the deportation proceedings were dismissed after Kim agreed to return to Korea voluntarily. But Rogers said Thursday the INS would not make such a deal if there were legitimate reasons to deport him.

“He would have been ineligible to voluntarily leave,” Rogers said.

Kim returned to the United States on Friday to visit his family in Buena Park after his father’s leg surgery. On Sunday night, he borrowed his older brother’s 4-Runner to visit a friend. His brother said Kim never told him when he would return the car, and he never asked.

“I didn’t need it,” the older Kim said. “He needed transportation, and I gave him the keys. We’re family.”

The older Kim said he saw his brother again Tuesday night while driving in Garden Grove and waved to him. The next day, the brother received a call from CHP asking if his car had been stolen.

“I said ‘No, my brother’s driving my car,’ ” Kim said. “After that, a Westminster captain called and said my car was involved in a shooting. I knew then something was wrong. But I was still hoping that somebody else was in that car.”

The officers who surrounded the younger Kim in the parking lot Wednesday repeatedly yelled at him to stop, but he continued “using his vehicle as a weapon,” Weinstein said.

“They tried to get out of the way. But every second, the situation was changing,” Weinstein said. “They would be in a good position one second, and the next they’re in danger. They felt, for their safety and for the people around them, they had no choice.”

Four officers from Westminster, Orange and the California Highway Patrol fired 10 to 15 rounds, witnesses said.

Police said Thursday they had found no weapon nor drugs in the 4-Runner, but they were still searching it. Coroners will test for drugs in Kim’s system, police said.

Investigators and relatives were still puzzled Thursday as to why Kim, who spoke English, continued plowing his 4-Runner into police units after they ordered him to stop.

“I think maybe he was nervous or scared,” the older Kim said.

Police said Kim’s actions were equivalent to assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder.

The drama was captured on television and taped by the Kim family. On Thursday, they replayed the tape to try to piece together the events.

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Kim’s 68-year-old father, Jae Yong Kim, said police are “supposed to protect, not kill. They killed my son. I wished that I never had that operation. It was because of my operation that he came here. Now he’s dead.”

The brother said he was “not in their situation. I wasn’t there. But I can’t understand why they just didn’t get out of the way. He didn’t have a gun and he was boxed in. In front of him was a wall. Where could he have gone?”

Members of several Korean community organizations also met Thursday night to review the tape.

“We’re not going to blame anybody,” said Koo Oh, president of the Korean American Assn. of Orange County.

“We just want to find out what the whole story is. The meeting is not to condemn anyone, but we’d like to have a full investigation of the case. . . . I know most of Koreans watched the chase on TV, and I know there are a lot of questions there.”

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Police said they also received a number of calls from people who had seen the shooting on television and wanted to voice their opinions.

While investigators sort out the details of the deadly chase, relatives gathered to mourn Kim, the youngest of four children. Family members live within walking distance of each other and regularly plan their vacations together.

This weekend, the family had made reservations for Big Bear Lake.

“He loved fishing, big-game and ocean fishing,” Kim said of his younger brother. “He has about 40 fishing poles.”

The only single child left in his family, Kim often was ribbed by his relatives about getting married, his brother said.

“How do I tell my kids?” he said. “They ask me what has happened to their uncle, and I don’t know what to say.”

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Times staff writers Anna Cekola and Rene Tawa contributed to this story.