Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

California 'Karen And Ken' Call Cops On Asian American Doctor For Simply Visiting His Parents

California 'Karen And Ken' Call Cops On Asian American Doctor For Simply Visiting His Parents
Khoa Lam/Facebook

Khoa Lam, an Asian American man in Davis, California was visiting his parents when a pair of White people nearby felt they needed to call the police on him.

Lam, a doctor, was Facetiming his wife outside his parents house when he noticed he was being followed by a White woman.


She began interrogating him, asking what he was doing, saying he did not belong there and telling him to leave.

Lam began filming the woman. As soon as she noticed this, she retreated back to her home and threatened to call the police.

Lam wrote online:

"Well, if she really was just a friendly neighborhood watchdog, she should have stopped after she learned that I was visiting family. Still threatened to call the cops on me, then why leave when she realized she was on camera? I was holding a phone, not a gun."

Later that same day, Lam went outside to text a friend.

He was then approached by yet another White neighbor. The man claimed to have been called by a third party who had accused Lam of taking photos of the area's house and cars.

As Lam stood calmly, six feet away, the White neighbor who the internet labelled a "Ken" claimed to feel "threatened" and called the police. Lam captured video of the call.

Shortly thereafter, police arrived on the scene.

Lam returned to Facebook to let his friends know what happened, writing:

"Final update."
"Two police officers came and talked to me at the parking lot. My parents came out for validation purposes and support. I explained to them what happened. This officer, Morgan Hatcher #220, felt compelled to lecture me on 'perspective' and that Ken said he 'didn't know what to do because I had repeatedly asked him to call the cops'."
"WHAT?!! Putting this back on me?? I said, 'Do I look suspicious, like a terrorist or robber?' Hatcher laughed and said, 'Do I know what terrorists look like?' Wow..."
"After my explanations, I said I wanted to invite my accusers out and confront them in the cops' presence. They said no, that's not how they do things. I said I wanted to walk over and talk to Ken peeking out of his door over there."
"She said she would advise against that because I looked quite provoked and if they were asked to intervene...They also said those guys already said they don't want to talk to me."
"Her fellow officer told me that if I were to confront those people later tonight and they ended up calling the cops again, 'it's not going to be...' I said, 'What? Not going to be what? Not going to be pretty?'"
"She then accused me of putting words in her mouth. I asked Officer Hatcher for her fellow officer's name and badge number because she said I could text her if I need anything. No response. From my recollection, it was K. Ramos."
"Those are all the facts. I didn't record them because I was honestly hesitant. I don't know if they had their body cameras on. Update: Officer Hatcher responded and confirmed her fellow officer was Ramos, K9 #120."
"PS. I'd like to say that I would highly recommend against harassment of these individuals (in any form) in the lens of social justice. That would be the exact opposite of my goals in bringing up this incident. I just hope this serves as a learning opportunity for all parties involved, including myself. And as a social message for the rest of us to be more culturally and politically aware and appropriate, so that in the near future, we can all coexist in harmony."


Shortly after the incident, Lam submitted a claim against the officers for "racial profiling, bias-by-proxy, discrimination and harassment" based on the Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015.

Lam wrote in his complaint:

"The officers failed to investigate their actions properly and threatened me. They exhibited implicit bias during their field interview of me, and discriminatory policing with their non-enforcement of the law. They should have been trained and made aware of the potential bias-by-proxy during their field interviews."
"The dispatcher should have collected the necessary information to verify potential criminal activity or lack thereof, and realized potentially biased assumptions when taking calls. Reports of suspicious activity should not be actionable unless a complainant can articulate potential criminal activity with reasonable suspicion."
"The Vera Institute of Justice warns that bias by proxy may arise when 'officers rely on the emergency dispatcher's recitation of what a biased caller claims to have happened instead of making an independent and professional assessment of the caller's claims.'"


Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel told NextShark:

"It will take a little time to do a thorough review, which includes interviewing everyone involved, reviewing body-worn camera video, video taken by Mr. Lam, and listening to the phone call that was made to the Police Department."
"We will be in touch with Mr. Lam during our review and will share our findings. The Independent Police Auditor will also likely release findings, which will be available for review."


San Francisco is now considering the Caution Against Racially Exploitative Non-Emergencies or "CAREN" Act, which would make these non-emergency 911 calls illegal and potentially even a hate crime.

Lam told NextShark:

"I hope it gets passed and adopted widely.

More from Trending

A couple facing sunset view
Mindy Sabiston/Unsplash

Guys Reveal The White Lies They Tell Their Significant Others

When you're in a long-term relationship, the conversations you have with your significant other tend to be a lot more casual than when emotions were more intense at the start.

The viewpoints shared on various topics and the divulging of information imparted can either be very engaging or droning.

Keep ReadingShow less
Four people standing together; one holds a guitar.
American Idol/ABC

Carnie Wilson Speaks Out After Daughter Hit With 'Cruel' Comments Following 'American Idol' Audition

Carnie Wilson of the '90s pop vocal trio Wilson Phillips spoke out in response to the slew of cruel comments leveled at her 19-year-old daughter Lola Bonfiglio after she auditioned for American Idol .

"I just wanna say, we're human, and the internet is so cruel. It can be so cruel," Wilson said during the "Music of the ’90s" panel at 90s Con in Hartford, Connecticut.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from TikToker @emilyrathbooks' video
@emilyrathbooks/TikTok

Author Epically Unloads On Trump-Supporting Fan Who Claims 'Not All Of Us Are Horrible'

Author Dr. Emily Rath refused to give a free pass to a fan who supports Republican President Donald Trump and claimed in a comment that "not all of us are horrible."

Rath, a full-time author who loves international politics, shared a now-viral video in which she gave a fiery response to a TikToker named "Jordyn" who wrote, "As a Trump supporter, I love your books. Not all of us are horrible.".

Keep ReadingShow less
Brooke Rollins
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Leaked Memo Reveals USDA Has Banned Massive List Of Terms Including 'Climate' And 'Pollution'

On his first day in office, Republican (MAGA) President Donald Trump issued a flurry of executive orders (EOs).

Among them was the MAGA movement's response to "woke."

Keep ReadingShow less
Tim Walz; Elon Musk
Mario Tama/Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Tim Walz Promises To Stop Mocking Musk Over Tesla's Decline—But Only On One Condition

After billionaire Elon Musk called Minnesota Governor and former vice presidential candidate Tim Walz a "huge jerk" for openly celebrating Tesla's stock market tumble, Walz assured Musk he'd stop—but only if Musk takes his hands off Social Security benefits for millions of Americans.

Late last month, as news outlets reported that Tesla shares have plunged over 40% since January, wiping out the entire “Trump bump” that had temporarily driven the stock up more than 90% following Election Day, Walz said he added Tesla to the stock app on his phone to add a pick-me-up to his day.

Keep ReadingShow less