Man Files Suit Over Arrest in CHP Officer’s Slaying

A man arrested and then released in connection with the brutal slaying of California Highway Patrol Officer Don Burt filed a lawsuit on Thursday alleging police violated his constitutional rights.

Yong Ho Choi, a 32-year-old unemployed painter, said in the suit that officers failed to inform him of his rights and did not allow him to call an attorney following his arrest. The suit, filed against Anaheim and Fullerton, contends that officers also defamed Choi by publicly announcing that he was suspected of killing a police officer.

Choi’s suit was filed in Los Angeles federal court and seeks more than $50,000 in damages.

Stephen Yagman, Choi’s lawyer, said officers were under pressure to solve the slaying of another peace officer.

“And they improperly used [Choi] as the vehicle to accomplish that,” said Yagman, a Venice lawyer who specializes in civil rights cases.

Officials in Fullerton denied that Choi’s rights were violated. Anaheim officials said they could not comment because they had not seen the suit.

“The police car was dumped off in Anaheim and one block away from the car was Choi, who matched the description,” said Sgt. Ron Gillett of the Fullerton Police Department, which investigated the shooting death of Burt. “We had witnesses go by and most were reasonably certain that Choi was the shooter.”

Burt was shot seven times, including once in the head, with a 9-millimeter handgun after making a traffic stop July 13.

The assailant took off in Burt’s patrol car, which was found abandoned about seven miles away in an Anaheim car lot that night.

Choi, a Buena Park resident, was arrested near the patrol car, but after further investigation, he was released the next day. Police said evidence, such as fingerprints and gunpowder tests, failed to link him to the crime.

Police later identified Hung Thanh Mai, 25, of Anaheim as the prime suspect. Mai was arrested in Houston and is awaiting trial.