NYPD Officer Indicted On Shooting Unarmed Man In Brooklyn Stairwell (Photo : Getty Images)
The spate of deaths of black men in the hands of white police officers gave rise to the “Black Lives Matter” movement. It seems in between the racist tones of the deaths, one race also prominent in the U.S. had been overlooked – the Asian.
The “oversight” just became apparent after NYPD officer Peter Liang who was found guilty of manslaughter for the death of Akai Gurley by the Brooklyn Supreme Court. Observers say that the 28-year-old office had the misfortune of having a fellow Asian, Danny K. Chun, as judge. Chun is scheduled to pronounce Liang’s sentence in April.
Asia Times raises the possibility that Chun, an Asian American, “may feel compelled to levy a harsh sentence so he can’t be accused of being soft on another Asian.” By giving Liang a harsh sentence, Chun would not be accused of reverse racial prejudice.
The newspaper points out that Liang and his partner were in a dark stairwell of a notorious housing project in Brooklyn and unaware that Gurley, an unarmed African American, was on the stairs. Given such an assignment, having his hands on a gun is a precautionary move on the cops’ part, Asia Times stressed.
Asia Times suggested that Chun review past cases involving police shootings of unarmed black men in the Big Apple as guide in sentencing Liang. It cited the Nicholas Heyward, Amadou Diallo and Patrick Dorismond cases, among the several compiled by The New York Times, as precedents in which the accused police officers were acquitted.
Besides the racial tones of the cases cited – wherein the officers were white and the victims were black – the newspaper noted that Liang was also poorly trained and inexperienced. He was scared and his gun accidentally fired. Lou Telano, president of the New York Veteran Police Association, pointed out “People wait in dark stairwells to commit crimes. You have to be ready. You’d be foolish not to have your hand on your gun.”
Supporters of Liang added that the young office is just a pawn and scapegoat caught “in the politics of City Hall’s anti-police sentiment,” reported Daily News.
Asia Times argued that “action in the line of duty as never been a cause for criminal conviction,” but conceded that Liang’s case could be an exception because he is an Asian cop and not a white one.
