Prevent Future Tragedies for Marginalized Minorities

Police are in our communities to serve and protect. When someone is experiencing a mental health emergency, they are supposed to help defuse it and keep them safe.

On December 30, 2020, Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) failed their community and they failed Christian Hall.

Christian Hall, a 19-year-old Chinese American teen, anonymously called 911 to report a suicidal person (himself).

Troopers responded to the medical emergency and shot and killed Christian. Christian needed compassion and medical care. Instead, he received bullets.

Through litigation, Christian Hall’s parents obtained a copy of the unredacted video footage of the shooting, which confirmed that Christian was standing in the universal stance of surrender, with his hands in the air, when troopers shot and killed him.

Contrary to what PSP stated in their official press release, Christian never pointed his “gun” at troopers. Rather, when troopers shot him, he was standing still and SURRENDERING.

The unredacted video definitively establishes that the Pennsylvania State Police and Assistant District Attorney Michael Mancuso violated the public’s trust and abdicated their official duties by misrepresenting what occurred on the bridge during the fateful moments.

We often fight for justice for marginalized Black victims of police misconduct, but incidents like this are a reminder that it is the responsibility of everyone to fight for justice for all people; especially for those whose voices cannot be heard. As Martin Luther King taught, “We must learn that passively to accept an unjust system is to cooperate with that system, and thereby to become a participant in its evil.”

Sign this petition to urge that:

1. Pennsylvania Monroe County District Attorney, E. David Christine, Jr., refer the case to Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro for an unbiased and independent investigation;
2. Attorney General Josh Shapiro investigate the use of deadly force against Christian Hall;
3. Pennsylvania enact a law requiring the dispatch of a social worker to assist during mental health emergencies;
4. Pennsylvania enact a law requiring all law enforcement personnel to attend yearly training to assist social workers during mental health emergencies;
5. Pennsylvania enact a law requiring all law enforcement personnel to attend yearly training regarding the handling of mental health emergencies in adoptee communities;
6. Pennsylvania enact a law requiring the immediate release of all law enforcement audio and video recordings related to incidents that result in a death caused by the use of force;
7. Attorney General Josh Shapiro investigate why District Attorney E. Christine failed to refer this case for an independent investigation;
8. Governor Tom Wolf issue a statement about the killing of Christian Hall, the false statement issued by the Pennsylvania State Police, and the misleading presentation by Assistant District Attorney Mancuso and District Attorney E. Christine's office.