By Sun Weichi in the US and Du Liya in Beijing Source:Global Times Published: 2013-5-23 17:43:01
A Vietnamese-American was shot to death by three policemen in the Alhambra Police Department on May 17 after he threatened them with a 12-inch carving knife and police were unable to communicate with him.
According to Dave Coleman of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau, the man was clutching a large backpack and appeared incoherent. Five officers tried to speak to him in several languages, but he would not respond.
The suspect was identified as Khan Tony Nim, a 35-year-old Vietnamese-American, whose case has drawn attention in the Asian-American community.
A similar case occurred in 2002 when Guo Shuai, a 14-year-old Chinese girl, was accused of attacking the police. The teenager was living with another family at that time, who had called the police after finding that Guo had locked herself in her room. After policemen arrived, Guo came out of her room and walked downstairs with a knife in hand. Guo ignored police warnings to put down the knife, prompting them to fire at her as she approached them and wounding her.
The case shocked the whole community as a juvenile Chinese girl had been shot by police who had accused her of attacking them. Guo was later held in a youth camp for five years.
The investigation showed that her parents' divorce and living with another family had made Guo depressed and driven her to thoughts of committing suicide. While it appears that she was actually trying to harm herself with the knife, the police were unaware of her intentions and sought to protect themselves as they had been told to in their training.
Daniel Hong Deng, a renowned defense attorney and former president of the Los Angeles Chinese American Sheriff Advisory Committee, told the Global Times that it is quite common for Chinese-Americans to have disputes with police as different cultural backgrounds often lead to misunderstandings.
According to Deng, American police are trained to assume that suspects are carrying a gun since it is legal for every resident to have one. When the police consider their lives under threat, they will fire to protect themselves.
Unfortunately, Chinese immigrants often choose not to listen to the police when they are apprehended. Furthermore, some new immigrants are unable to communicate with police due to language problems and want to explain themselves while approaching them. But police see this move as a dangerous gesture and may fire at them. Others even run away when the police call them, which may also prompt the police to fire.
Deng said that Chinese immigrants should avoid direct conflict with police and try to seek justice in courts later on.
Thanh M. Ly, a liaison officer with the LA County Sheriff Department, told the Global Times that Chinese immigrants should understand that every American policeman carries a gun, which is not necessarily the case in Asian countries. So it is extremely unwise to engage in direct conflict with the police, and smarter to bear their grievance at the time.
Chester Chong, president of the Los Angeles Chinese Chamber of Commerce, said Nim's case was a tragedy but police were justified in firing at him. He also warned that learning to communicate with local police is an urgent task for the Chinese community.