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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Protesters attend a rally in the Brooklyn borough of New York in support of former NYPD police officer Peter Liang, who was convicted of manslaughter for the 2014 shooting death of Akai Gurley, in a housing project stairwell.
NEW YORK >> A debate has arisen among many Asian-Americans over the case of Peter Liang, a New York City police officer convicted of recklessly firing a shot that killed an innocent black man.
An estimated 10,000 mostly Chinese-American demonstrators rallied in New York last weekend in support of the Chinese-American officer. Many said they believe Liang is being made a scapegoat for acts of police brutality largely committed by whites.
They say prosecutors went ahead with the case because they weren’t worried about a backlash from a politically marginalized ethnic group.
But the protests in support of the officer have dismayed other Asian-Americans. Says one: “At the end of the day, he killed somebody who didn’t deserve to be killed.”
If the accounts of his fellow officers are accurate, Peter Liang’s overriding concern after fatally shooting Akai Gurley was that he’d lose his job. As it turned out, he lost his freedom as well. Maybe incarceration will eventually lead him to accept personal responsibility.
A minority race will have a difficult time in persuading a jury of another ethnic background. Jury will have to do their best to push any bias onto the side when they make the final upshot decision.
DeltaDag, agree with your post. This case has nothing to do about being Asian, but all to do about being an American police officer with special responsibilities and he broke our American law and if convicted in an American court, must serve his time.
In New York City, the Asian are a minority. In Hawaii, the Asians are the majority. The Asians in New York City are only asking for a fair trail.