Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
By Jennie L. Ilustre
Former New York City Police Officer Peter Liang will not serve any prison time for the fatal shooting of Akai Gurley in November 2014.
On April 19, after reducing Liang’s February jury conviction from second-degree manslaughter to criminally negligent homicide, Acting Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun sentenced Liang, 28, to five-year probation and 800 hours of community service. Probation is a period that a person must complete in good behavior before receiving the full benefits of freedom.
A New York Times story on April 19 reported the decision not to imprison Liang followed the recommendation of Brooklyn district attorney Ken Thompson, who prosecuted the case against Liang during a three-month trial last winter.
The prosecutor’s memo, the Times reported, referred to Mr. Gurley as “a completely innocent man who lost his life for no reason” but also pointed out that “Mr. Liang had no prior criminal history and posed no threat to public safety and should therefore not face time in prison.”
The Times story reported the Gurley shooting “never neatly fit the narrative of other high-profile police killings” of unarmed black men. It added that the prosecutor recognized that difference when it recommended no incarceration for Liang last March. Liang was on patrol in November last year when he opened the door in a dark stairwell and his gun went off and ricocheted towards Gurley’s heart.
An earlier Times story reported Justice Chun had built a reputation over the years “for being objective and evenhanded.”
Liang had faced up to 15 years in prison when the jury convicted him last February of second-degree manslaughter. Last February 17, the New York Law Journal reported that Liang’s attorney Rae Downes Koshetz said she would ask Justice Chun for the minimum sentence: No incarceration.
Asian American organizations across the county registered mixed reaction to the decision. “The sentencing sends the message that it is okay to kill innocent and precious lives, as long as it is done by a police officer,” a nationwide grassroots group said in a joint statement hours after learning the news on April 19.
“There are no winners in this case,” Mee Moua, president and executive director of the Asian Americans Advancing Justice-AAJC based in the nation’s capital, said in a telephone interview on April 21. “As a caring community, we have all struggled to come to terms over this double tragedy. For all those whose lives have been forever altered, we must rededicate ourselves to continue to work towards justice and civil rights.”
Community reaction
Indeed, the mixed community reaction showed the need for an open discussion on the issue. Highlights of the comments are presented here first as an overview, followed by the full text of the statements issued.
Several Asian American organizations contacted for comment during the week the decision was made expressed outrage that Liang, like other police officers involved in killing innocent African Americans, had escaped accountability.
On April 19, after learning of Liang’s sentence, grassroots organizations nationwide, including the Chinese Progressive Association and the Asian Americans United, issued a joint statement at 6:44 p.m. noting the “decision today is an insult to Akai Gurley, his family, and all victims of police violence…”
“APALA believes Akai Gurley’s life mattered and that Liang should have served jail time like any average civilian who is convicted of the same crime,” said Gregory A. Cendana on April 21. Cendana is the executive director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO Institute for Asian Pacific American Leadership & Advancement.
Remarked National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) National Chair JT Mallonga on April 21: “The message it sends is troubling, which makes systemic police reform even more urgent. Police officers convicted of killing unarmed African Americans should be held to the same standard of justice as everyone else.”
In an email on April 21, Stan Tsai, president of the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association, Greater DC Chapter (APAPA-GDC), offered a different view. He commented: “First of all, we do understand there was a mistake made by former police officer Liang that caused the death of a precious life…We do understand the feeling in the African American community regarding these cases, when we see some police officers apparently committed the crimes intentionally. But the case of former officer Liang is not the same.”
In a statement emailed on April 21, S.B. Woo, 80-20 Initiative president and a volunteer for the past 17 years, commended the organizational skills that resulted in the massive rally in February urging that Liang not be made “a scapegoat” to divert public outcry over the rising incidence of police killings of African Americans, but he suggested an alternative would not have made the rally necessary. In related news, another big rally, planned before the sentencing, was cancelled after some organizations noted it would be counter-productive.
Full Text of Reaction Statements
On April 19, after learning of Liang’s sentence, several organizations issued a joint statement at 6:44 p.m. These organizations are: the Asian Pacific Environmental Network, Oakland (California); Asian Americans United, Philadelphia; Asian American Resource Workshop, Boston; CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities, New York City; Chinatown Community for Equitable Development (CCED), Los Angeles; Chinese Progressive Association, San Francisco; and Chinese Progressive Association, Boston.
The joint statement follows: “We are outraged that Peter Liang has escaped accountability for killing Akai Gurley. For more than a year, Akai Gurley’s family has been courageously speaking out to demand justice for their loved one. Judge Chun’s sentencing decision today is an insult to Akai Gurley, his family, and all victims of police violence. Any amount of jail/prison time is a brief snippet of time compared to the lifetime Akai Gurley’s young daughters will have to live without their father. The sentencing sends the message that it is okay to kill innocent and precious lives, as long as it is done by a police officer.
“Akai Gurley was only 28-years-old when he was struck and killed by the bullet fired by Peter Liang who failed to provide necessary medical help or call the ambulance. Akai’s aunt, Hertencia Petersen, remembers Akai as a good son and nephew, who joked and smiled a lot. He provided for his younger brothers and sisters and took care of Akaila and Kamiya, his daughters. Since the killing of Akai, his family has been suffering and mourning for their loss, as well as standing strongly together with the community to demand justice.
“While the Chinese media and some Chinese leaders stood behind former Officer Peter Liang, as grassroots organizations working with Asian/Chinese Americans, we continue to stand with the family of Akai Gurley and other innocent victims of police killings to hold all police officers accountable, regardless of race. We continue to affirm that if we believe in true racial justice, we cannot excuse an officer for killing an innocent unarmed black man because Peter Liang is Chinese or Asian like us. We know that the strength of our power is fully realized when we stand together with those who also face injustice. We cannot forget when other communities of color stood with us against the police killing of Yong Xin Huang in 1995 and other incidents of police brutality and countless critical moments our communities were also hurt. We have a responsibility to protect our prosperity by protecting ALL families and that means also the family of Akai Gurley who has lost their loved one forever.
“We can tip the scales to fit our needs, but it doesn’t mean we’ve reached justice. Our hunger for true justice, for a world where we all have a chance to thrive and grow old must be realized. We showed everyone and ourselves the political power we are capable of. We must challenge the abuse of power where it is most evident–where families are losing loved ones with no accountability of the officers who kill them. Nothing will bring Akai back, but we must hold all police officers accountable to continue to fight for violence-free communities and win change in our systems and institutions.”
AAJC
“There are no winners in this case,” Mee Moua, president and executive director of the Asian Americans Advancing Justice-AAJC, said in a telephone interview on April 21: “Indeed, this has been heart-wrenching for the community. It’s a difficult situation because it involves the tragic loss of life of an innocent man struck at his prime. We feel the pain and sorrow of everyone in Akai Gurley’s family, because life will never be the same for them. We can just imagine how the lives of Peter Liang and his family are likewise forever changed by this experience. As a caring community, we have all struggled to come to terms over this double tragedy. For all those whose lives have been forever altered, we must rededicate ourselves to continue to work towards justice and civil rights.”
Founded in 1991, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-AAJC is a national nonprofit which aims to protect civil and human rights. It serves the country’s newest American community “by promoting justice for all Americans, empowering our communities, bringing local and national constituencies together, and ensuring Asian Americans are able to fully participate in our democracy.”
80-20 Initiative
In an email on April 21, S.B. Woo, 80-20 Initiative president and a volunteer for the past 17 years, wrote: “80-20 would likely have worked something out with the Attorney General without calling for the demonstration. The large-scale nature of the demonstrations in itself has positive value for the Chinese American community. The organizers showed great skills in organizing, but little understanding of the system in the U.S.”
80-20 Initiative is “a national, nonpartisan, Political Action Committee dedicated to winning equal opportunity and justice for all Asian Americans.”
APALA
On April 19, Gregory A. Cendana, executive director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO Institute for Asian Pacific American Leadership & Advancement emailed the following statement: “Today, Peter Liang, who was found guilty of manslaughter and official misconduct by a grand jury in February, was sentenced to five years of probation and 800 hours of community service. APALA believes Akai Gurley’s life mattered and that Liang should have served jail time like any average civilian who is convicted of the same crime.
“We want to reiterate our support for Akai’s family, especially in this difficult time, and recommit ourselves to demanding justice for Akai Gurley and the many other lives lost to state violence. It’s clear our work is far from done in dismantling systems of oppression that try to divide and conquer us. APALA stands firmly in our belief that #BlackLivesMatter and will continue to fight the mass criminalization of all people of color.”
Founded in 1992, APALA, AFL-CIO is “the first and only national organization for Asian Pacific American union members to advance worker, immigrant and civil rights.”
APAPA-GDC
In an email on April 21, Stan Tsai, president of the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association, Greater DC Chapter (APAPA-GDC), wrote: “We welcome this decision by Judge Chun. First of all, we do understand there was a mistake made by former police officer Liang that caused the death of a precious life. He should take some responsibility in the case. But, apparently, Liang will not be obliged to do so.
“There are many cases involving the death of African Americans recently, and most of the police officers did not get penalized by the court. We do understand the feeling in the African American community regarding these cases, when we see some police officers apparently committed the crimes intentionally.
“But the case of former officer Liang is not the same. Also, a jail term for former officer Liang cannot amend the pains in the African American community. It would just create a scapegoat in Liang, because the court system would be punishing a person who made an unintentional mistake.”
NaFFAA
Full text of the statement from National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) National Chair JT S. Mallonga follows: “The lenient sentencing of New York City Police Officer Peter Liang is deeply disappointing to our community. The message it sends is troubling, which makes systemic police reform even more urgent. Police officers convicted of killing unarmed African Americans should be held to the same standard of justice as everyone else. Public perception of fairness is vital if we are to restore public confidence in our criminal justice system.”
Founded in 1997, NaFFAA seeks to promote the active participation of Filipino Americans in civic and national affairs and to ensure the empowerment of all Filipinos and Filipino Americans in the U.S.