CPA Statement On Peter Liang, Akai Gurley and the Struggle for Racial Justice
February 18, 2016
Recently, a number of Chinese leaders and Chinese newspapers have called for our community to rally behind Officer Peter Liang, who was convicted of second-degree manslaughter, i.e. the accidental killing of an 28 year-old unarmed Black man named Akai Gurley. Liang was also found guilty of misconduct for failing to provide medical help or call an ambulance for the dying victim.
The basic facts of the case are not under dispute, but supporters of Officer Liang claim that he is being scapegoated because he is Chinese, pointing to the many white cops who have killed Black victims and gone free.
As a 39 year-old civil rights organization, we are the first to agree that Chinese, Latino, and Black officers face racial discrimination in police forces across the country, and we continue to stand up for our communities to have equal representation and equal promotional opportunities in all fields.
We also agree that every white cop who has abused or killed an innocent victim should be indicted and punished. That is why many of our members have participated in #BlackLivesMatter protests to hold every one of those officers accountable, and why we have similarly stood up for local Chinese victims of police abuse over the years.
But if we believe in racial justice, we cannot excuse an officer for killing an innocent, unarmed Black man and failing to provide medical help—just because he is Chinese like us. Instead, we should unite our community to fight for the indictment of white officers, or those of any race, and stand in solidarity with other communities of color who demand justice for all victims.
Please see our earlier earlier statement on police brutality, the prison system, and #BlackLivesMatter:
All Police Who Kill Innocent Victims Should Be Indicted
华人前进会对梁彼得警察与雅佳•格利事件和
种族正义斗争之声明书
2016年2月18日
最近，一些华人领导人和华人报纸都呼吁我们的社区人仕去参加声援梁彼得警察的示威活动。梁彼得警察被定罪二级杀人罪，事因他做巡逻时手枪射死一位28岁手无寸铁的黑人青年，雅佳•格利。开枪后，梁彼得第一时间不是打电话救人，反而是与同事商量后发短信给工会代表保护自己的工作。其中被定的罪项是梁彼得没有及时提供医疗给被枪射的受害者。
该案件发生的事实是没有争议的，但梁彼得的支持者声称，他是替罪羊，因为他是中国人，而慰问为什么许多其他白人警察也有杀了黑人却没有被起诉。
华人前进会是一个有39年历史的民权社区组织，我们绝对相信亚裔、拉丁裔、和黑人等有色族裔警察也有受到种族歧视的影响，而我们会继续站起来促进和争取我们社区各界人士和场所都有平等的代表权和平等的机会。
我们也同意任何滥用职权去杀害无辜受害者的白人警察都应该被起诉和惩罚，所以我们许多成员都有参加，《黑人的生命也是生命》(BlackLivesMatter) 的抗议活动。以同样的理由，我们以往也有支持本地华人面对警察滥用暴力的受害者。
如果我们认为种族平等和正义是重要的话，我们就不能无条件支持误杀无辜的警察，仅仅因为他的肤色与我们一样。再者，这些无辜被杀的黑人手无寸铁，并被杀后没有提供医疗救助。我们应该思考什么才是正义和种族平等，与其他有色种裔社区团结一起，争取种族正义，并且呼吁所有杀害无辜受害者的警察都应该被起诉和负责！