PRESS STATEMENT
February 13, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: June Jee, President
PRESS STATEMENT ON THE OFFICER PETER LIANG CASE
There are no winners in this tragic case. Akai Gurley, an innocent father of a young child is dead and the career of a young officer has ended. Officer Liang should not bear the full responsibility for a less than perfect criminal justice system, which has traditionally been lenient on officers who have committed even more egregious acts, whose cases have never been brought to trial. This case indicates a glaring contradiction in our criminal justice system. Police misconduct and brutality cases can get very disparate outcomes depending upon which district attorney is handling the case and which borough the incident occurred in. In order for the public to have confidence in our judicial system in cases involving police misconduct and brutality, there cannot be these glaring differences. Our judicial system cannot engage in selective prosecution, it must apply the same standards for all. In this case, a rookie police officer, who happens to be an under-represented minority in the NYPD, had the book thrown at him. To hold all police officers to the same standard, OCA -NY continues to call for the creation of an independent prosecutor's office that will handle police-involved deaths.
OCA-NY will do what it can to ensure sentencing for Officer Liang is commensurate with that of an accidental misfire.
Founded in 1976, OCA-NY is a non-profit civil rights organization that promotes and protects the political, economic, and social rights of Asian Pacific Americans in New York City.
February 13, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: June Jee, President
PRESS STATEMENT ON THE OFFICER PETER LIANG CASE
There are no winners in this tragic case. Akai Gurley, an innocent father of a young child is dead and the career of a young officer has ended. Officer Liang should not bear the full responsibility for a less than perfect criminal justice system, which has traditionally been lenient on officers who have committed even more egregious acts, whose cases have never been brought to trial. This case indicates a glaring contradiction in our criminal justice system. Police misconduct and brutality cases can get very disparate outcomes depending upon which district attorney is handling the case and which borough the incident occurred in. In order for the public to have confidence in our judicial system in cases involving police misconduct and brutality, there cannot be these glaring differences. Our judicial system cannot engage in selective prosecution, it must apply the same standards for all. In this case, a rookie police officer, who happens to be an under-represented minority in the NYPD, had the book thrown at him. To hold all police officers to the same standard, OCA -NY continues to call for the creation of an independent prosecutor's office that will handle police-involved deaths.
OCA-NY will do what it can to ensure sentencing for Officer Liang is commensurate with that of an accidental misfire.
Founded in 1976, OCA-NY is a non-profit civil rights organization that promotes and protects the political, economic, and social rights of Asian Pacific Americans in New York City.
