My next blog was going to be about officer Peter Liang. But since LBOAYM brought it up, I decide to write about it now. It deserves a separate blog and not just a comment from me. In my opinion, if we never give a police officer the benefit of the doubt in a dangerous situation in the past, then Liang deserves to be tried and convicted. But as has happened so often in the past, police officers have done much worse than Liang and got off free, then I find it hard to believe that Liang was charged and convicted of manslaughter.
This shooting occurred in a dark staircase with no witnesses and video. The bullet had bounced off a wall and hit the victim. Yes, it was negligence but also bad luck. Certainly, Liang had no intention of shooting the victim. Compared that to recent cases where a cop can be seen on video shooting or choking somebody intentionally in broad day light. I think there is no doubt that the prosecution tried to make this case as an example that they are no longer trying to help the cops. If this is a true turning of the page for the justice system then the sacrifice of Liang maybe a good thing in the long run. But since this happened in 2014 and since then I can't think of one white cop being convicted in 2015 for uncalled for shooting, I doubt this is a turning of the page.
I have said it before: If these unjustified shootings or beatings are occurring in this age of widespread use of cell phone cameras, then can you imagine how often the cops were beating or shooting people in the past? Well, in this case, there was no video and no witness. So I would have to ask: If Liang was white, would he have been prosecuted. I think not. Most likely the police would have said that the cop felt danger in the dark and shot a warning shot which bounced off the wall and killed the victim. That would seem more acceptable to the white community than some of the other shootings. So I don't think a white cop would have been even prosecuted.
I compare this to the collapse of Wall Street in 2008. The only big shot from Wall Street who went to jail was a South Asian guy. Well, unless you count Bernie Madoff. But even then I say Madoff had to go to jail because he ripped off rich white people only. Interesting enough the prosecutors in the South Asian's case were South Asians. This way they claim that he was not tried because of his ethnicity. Similar to the Rosenberg spy case where the judge was Jewish, Liang's fate is going to be decided by an Asian judge. I see a pattern here.
I think the Asian community in NY did not start the protest early enough. The big protests should have occurred way before the trial. Asians also should have shown more support for Black Lives Matter. Asians also should show more sympathy to the victim of this case. One possible consequences of this is that it may decrease the number of Asians wanting to join the police. Asians are way underrepresented in most police forces and this case will not help the recruitment of Asians into law enforcement.
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
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There are so many sides to this unfortunate accident. I try to distance myself from this as an Asian American and see how I would react had Liang not been Asian American.
ReplyDeleteIn a way, I feel for Liang, because it was an accident. I also feel for Mr. Gurley, who was an innocent citizen going about his business. Bottom line is that the gun went off in Liang's hand, which should have never happened. The other fact is that he panicked and never helped Gurley.
So, in short, I find fault with Liang and believe that the sentence was appropriate. His career as an officer is likely over. Who knows, maybe he can still have a productive and happy life after jail.
I definitely see where you are coming from and I see where you are coming from. But I think we have to look at it objectively. Had Liang been white or black, I think I'd be saying the same thing. Now, would the sentencing have been any different? I hate being pessimistic, but you make a good argument. But we also have to look at the timing of this, with the other incidents, maybe it was time for a fall guy. Does the fact that he is Asian American make it easier for him to be chosen as a fall guy? I don't know.
-LBOAYM
You said the sentence was appropriate but I don't think he has been sentenced yet. Judge Danny Chun is supposed to decide how many years Liang is going to get. He can be sentenced up to 15 years. Now of all the judges in NY I find it interesting that an Asian has been assigned to the case. I believe that Liang is guilty but I am not sure he deserves anywhere near 15 years (more on that in a moment). I think a couple of years is appropriate. But if Chun gives him a short sentence, people are going to complain that he did so because he is Asian. So I think Chun is going to give him a long sentence which I don't think Liang deserve.
ReplyDeleteThere has not been a conviction of a police officer shooting in NY in 11 years! In 2004 an officer shot a black person on a roof top and claimed the gun went off accidentally. He was never charged. I think this is as much of an accident as that case and more so than many cases we have heard recently. So, no, I don't think that if Liang was white, he would have been charged and convicted in this case. Yes, he panicked and maybe negligent in his action but he was a rookie who was paired with another cop on probation period who were sent into a bad area. Who set them up to fail like that?
I agree that Gurley is the victim here and it is a tragedy. But Gurley was not killed because he was black like some other victims. Liang was not aiming the gun at him unlike the other police shootings recently. If Gurley had been Asian, Liang would have shot him accidentally all the same. So this is not a police brutality or racism case. I will admit that I would not have much so say if Liang was white because I would not have read the case in the first place. I would have assumed that the cop killed Gurley because he was black. But if I read the case and Liang was white, I would find this case to be different than the other recent white police shootings. I believe that whether Liang is white or Asian, he deserves to be fired and put in jail for a couple of years. I am not optimistic that this is a beginning of holding cops responsible for uncalled for shootings and brutality. I think Liang's poor performance just made him a easy fall guy for the police dept. and judicial system. It is not true justice for minority victims of rogue cops.