New York, February 19, 2016: Tomorrow, February 20, 2016, more than 100,000 Chinese Americans in more than 30 major cities across the U.S. will come together as The Coalition of Justice for Liang and will rally for the justice of ex-NYPD officer Peter Liang.
The cities where the rally will be undertaken include New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Denver, Houston, Dallas, Detroit, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Atlanta, and Miami, among others.
This rally has been organized by The Coalition of Justice for Liang which is a group of Chinese American organizations worried about the trial of Peter Liang and claims that it wishes to seek “equal justice.”
In a press release issued to the media the group gave the background information of the case, which is being reproduced below:
“Twenty-eight-year old Peter Liang had been on the duty for only 18 months when he was assigned to conduct a vertical patrol at the Pink Houses, a high crime housing project in Brooklyn. The two officers were patrolling the pitch dark stairwell and Mr. Liang’s gun accidentally discharged. The bullet ricocheted off the wall and struck Akai Gurley, an African American civilian who happened to have entered the stairwell about one floor below. Unaware of Mr. Gurley’s injury at first, Mr. Liang was in the eighth floor hallway, discussing with his partner how to report this incident. When Mr. Liang finally arrived on the fifth floor with his partner and saw the injured Mr. Gurley, Mr. Liang immediately called for an ambulance while Mr. Gurley’s girlfriend was performing CPR. Unfortunately Mr. Gurley died later. “
Peter Liang was convicted of second-degree manslaughter on February 11, 2016 and may face a sentence of up to 15 years.”
While this group has expressed sorrow for the death yet it feels that it was a ‘tragic accident’ and that Peter Liang was subjected to selective prosecution with an unfair trial. But here is what the group says that should be a cause of real worry, the press note said that “The coalition denounces racial discrimination and the system covering up injustices with more injustices.”
Jack Ouyang, the spokesperson of the group gave more clarity on the subject when he said that “In the wake of so many unfortunate deaths of unarmed African American men in the hands of police officers, the tension between the police and African American communities nationwide has reached an unprecedented level. However, it is totally wrong for the prosecutor to single out Mr. Liang.”
