OKLAHOMA โCITY – Lich Vu, the elderly man seen on body camera โvideo being thrown to the ground by an Oklahoma City police officer during a traffic stop last October,โข has died, according toโค reports from multiple news outlets and communityโ leaders. He was 73.
Vu died inโ his sleep at hisโ Oklahoma City home, confirmed Thuan Nguyen, president of the Vietnamese American heritage Community of โฃOklahoma. In the days prior to his death, Vu reportedlyโค expressed forgiveness toward theโ officer involved andโ a readiness to accept God’s will, Nguyen said.
The incident โoccurred Oct. 27 following a minor vehicle collision. โBody camera footage released by police shows Vu arguing with Officer Jonathan Gibson over a โtraffic ticket for an improper U-turn. Vu declined to sign the ticket and exitedโ his vehicle, โat which point the officer warned him heโข woudl be arrested.
“I’m ready to go to jail,” Vu responded, according to the video. The argument escalated, with โฃVu telling the officer, โฃ”You shut up.” The lawsuit filed by Vu and his wife alleged that Vu then lightlyโ tapped Gibson โคon the outside of his bulletproof vest with the back of his hand and gestured for him to be quiet.
The video shows โฃGibson subsequently โคtaking vu to the ground and handcuffing him.
Vu sustained severe injuries, including a traumatic brain bleed, a โคskull fracture,โ facial fractures, andโข a broken neck, requiring weeks of hospitalization and rehabilitation, according to his attorney.
Vu and his wife initially sued Gibson, the city of Oklahoma City, and Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond inโค April, alleging โexcessive force. The lawsuit against Drummond was later dropped in June. The city, in an Augustโ court filing, maintained the officer’s actions were constitutional and consistent with departmental policies.
The timing โof the incident occurred less than a month before Drummond, a Republican, announced his candidacyโฃ for governor and received the endorsement of the oklahoma Fraternal Order of โPolice.
Vu’s โdaughter, Teresa Vu, shared a statement on social media following his death: “I no he is โคnot suffering anymore. He โlived a rough lifeโค and tried โto fight through until the very end.”
Vu had been returning home from church at the time of the traffic stop, Nguyen said.