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The Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence has condemned recent threats and harassment directed at supporters of justice for the slain unarmed Black youth, Akai Gurley, following a verdict that found police officer Peter Liang guilty of manslaughter.
Last week, Liang was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter and official misconduct in a case that has been the source of great controversy within New York City's Asian-American community.
“These events have elicited strong reactions in the Chinese and broader Asian American communities, where some believe former Officer Liang has been treated unfairly by our justice system because some white officers involved in recent high-profile incidents have not been held accountable for their actions,” the committee, also known as CAAAV, said in a statement.
“In the days since the jury’s decision, CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities, which has supported the family of Akai Gurley, has received threats and experienced significant harassment from some who disagree with its stance in this case.”
On Saturday, NBC News reported that several hundred protesters, most of them Chinese Americans, rallied in Brooklyn to protest the conviction of Liang, who they say has been unfairly convicted because the shooting was, according to the officer, “unintentional.”
Protesters hold a rally in support of former NYPD officer Peter Liang in the Brooklyn borough of New York February 20, 2016. Liang was convicted of manslaughter and official misconduct on Thursday for fatally shooting an unarmed Akai Gurley in the stairwell of his apartment. | Reuters
Some of the rally-goers reportedly expressed sympathy for Gurley and his family, demonstrated through a moment of silent for the innocent 28-year-old, who was hit by a bullet fired from Liang’s gun in Nov. 2014. But the chief of focus the protesters was their belief that Liang, Gurley's killer, is merely a “scapegoat.”
RELATED: NYPD Officer Convicted for Fatal Shooting of Akai Gurley
For its part, CAAAV, which has maintained support for Gurley’s family throughout the case, said some of their members and affiliated organizations have been targets for inflamed passions, and has urged those who disagree to not to turn to intimidation tactics or incitement.
“It is our position–as Asian American and Pacific Islander community leaders and organizations as well as leaders and organizations representing broader communities of color–that regardless of our stance on this high-profile case, we strongly condemn threats and harassment directed against CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities and individuals affiliated with the organization," the group said. We call on those who disagree with CAAAV’s position to express that disagreement civilly."
The case has been a source of outrage for many in the Asian-American community, who believe the justice system was “persecuting” Chinese-American officer Liang, while allowing white police officers to walk free.
"A lot of white officers have also killed people," Zhang Yuan, who attended the Saturday rally with his daughter, told NBC News in Mandarin. "Why don't they prosecute them? Why only Peter? It's not fair."
Gurley was struck when Liang’s bullet ricocheted in the darkened stairwell of a public housing block. The incident came amid a wave of public outcry over a series of high profile police killings of unarmed Black men and boys.
The source testifying said Liang and his partner were out of contact for more than six and a half minutes after Liang fired the single, fatal shot.
RELATED: US Officer Texted Union Right After Shooting Unarmed Akai Gurley
“The guy is dying and you still haven’t called it in?” the source was quoted as stating.
During that time, Liang was accused by the source of texting his union representative, as Gurley laid dying. Meanwhile, a 911 emergency operator and Liang's boss were trying to get hold of the two police officers.
The report also claims there is evidence to suggest the officers didn't know where they were, and weren't even supposed to be carrying out patrols in housing project stairwells.
look @ this beautiful pic #Asians4BlackLives #JusticeForAkaiGurley pic.twitter.com/H2yWzWRM6J
— Vic (@vicktow) December 30, 2015
While the case has led to heated divisions within the Asian-American community, many are also using this to reflect upon the wider racial injustice currently plaguing the United States.
A press release by an LA group of Asian-American group supporting justice for Gurley quoted
Chang Su, a graduate of USC, as saying, “Peter Liang must be accountable for his actions, the same way that Officers Daniel Pantaleo and Darren Wilson must be accountable. The fact that Liang is not White and is the first NYPD cop to be indicted for murder in years highlights the corruption in the policing institution and its impunity. This must be a moment of solidarity with Black victims of police violence if we as Asian Americans are truly committed to justice for all.”
“The only logic of white supremacy is to sustain itself,” wrote Chinese-American English professor David Shih.
“The Coalition for Asian-Americans for Civil Rights (CAACR) claims that because Peter Liang is Chinese American, he is being treated differently from Darren Wilson, Sean Williams, and Daniel Pantaleo. But this possibility doesn't mean Liang shouldn't be tried. It just means that he does not have the privilege that the white officers have. They should have been tried too,” the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire professor said on his personal blog.
“Akai Gurley and Peter Liang had much in common," he wrote, "but this is the most tragic: their lives in the balance, they were who white supremacy needed them to be. All of us would do well to remember that.”
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