CAAAV Statement on Police Violence in Columbus Park

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

CAAAV Statement on Police Violence in Columbus Park

In the last couple days, a video has been going around where a musician was pinned down by the police and arrested in Chinatown. Below is CAAAV’s statement on the incident which is getting translated into Chinese for outreach. Many thanks to Christine and PJ for agreeing to do a KYR training.

Here is the youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RHmd1-ZHyQ

CAAAV Statement on Police Violence in Columbus Park
May 11, 2011

On Mother’s Day last Sunday, Yi Zhuo Wu, a Chinese immigrant, was pinned down by four NYPD police officers who beat him bloody and then handcuffed him in Chinatown’s Columbus Park. Wu, a musician, is a member of the Street Musical Club, a group that has played music regularly in Columbus Park for more than four years. Aggravating the situation even further, as the community was watching Mr. Wu being arrested and calling for him to be released, a police officer threatened to mace people who did not move back.

According to the police, the Street Musical Club did not have a sound permit. In a statement to reporters, the NYPD has characterized this as a misunderstanding, that this would not have happened if people in the community knew that they needed a sound permit to play instruments in the park. Their solution is to hold a community information session to let people know what procedures they should follow.

Who do the police think they’re fooling?

In 2009, Chinatown resident and immigrant Jian Zhong Chen was in the Bronx when someone tried to rob him. When the police came, they did not try to get his side of the story – instead he was thrown in jail and charged for a crime he did not commit.

It is a common sentiment in Chinatown that the police are not there to protect everyone. They protect rich people, and they protect property. Undocumented immigrants are particularly vulnerable, as they feel they cannot go to the police even if their lives are in danger, fearing that they will be turned over to ICE. But those who do not speak English, who are poor or low-income, know that there is no guarantee that their rights will be protected when the NYPD is involved.

In Mr. Wu’s case, it is easy to dismiss this as a “one-time” instance that a community information session can address and fix. But the root of the problem is not that people don’t know what it takes to play instruments in the park. The reality is that the NYPD operates and has gotten by on fear and intimidation. And the reality is that as Chinatown increasingly becomes a neighborhood for non-immigrants and wealthier New Yorkers, Chinese immigrants are less and less welcome. The police have, in fact, become a force that helps to push immigrants out of the neighborhood, either by making us feel unwelcome or by, as in this case, using force.

Police violence is not justifiable in any situation.

Do you know what your rights are?

CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities is a city-wide organization that has a history of working with groups in New York City around police accountability issues. The Chinatown Tenants Union is a project of CAAAV.

Come to our office on Sunday, May 22^nd for a community Know Your Rights training.

Sunday, May 22, 2011
1-4pm
46 Hester Street, Storefront
New York, NY 10002

If you have questions, contact us at (212) 473-6485
or email us at justice@caaav.org