My response to NYPD Officer Peter Liang's conviction:

Officer Peter Liang’s indictment is a grave miscarriage of justice, anchored by the loss of an innocent man, Akai Gurley, whose death has devastated a family, community and our nation. While we can do and say nothing to bring Mr. Gurley back, we can and must do all that we can to prevent the further compounding of tragedies, by protesting Officer Liang’s conviction.

The facts of this case indicate that this shooting was a tragic accident. Officer Liang’s bullet discharged into a wall, and ricocheted into Mr. Gurley, who was merely walking in a dark stairwell. No altercation occurred between the two, Mr. Gurley was not armed, and Officer Liang didn't aim the gun he accidentally set off. In fact, he didn’t even know that Mr. Gurley had been shot until later. These facts never indicated that Liang knew or should have known that his actions would result in the death of an unarmed, innocent man.

Unfortunately, this tragedy occurred in a political environment where tensions between police officers and communities of color are at an all time high. Officer convictions are still extremely rare – and, perhaps, rarer than they should be. Liang’s case can only be viewed in this highly politicized context, as he has become the scapegoat for a flawed criminal justice system.

This case has set off a flurry of activism on both sides, as outlined in the NY Times article below. We, as a society, have a great deal of work to do to ensure that our criminal justice system treats everyone, regardless of their skin color, race, or ethnicity, with dignity and respect. Pinning the weight of past inequalities on one rookie Asian officer, however, is not the path to justice. Revenge, yes. Justice, no.

Until we get this equation right, there will never be true justice; only actions and reactions that move us further from resolution. I stand with the tens of thousands of protestors across our nation who urge the New York criminal justice system to seek real reform, rather use Officer Liang as a temporary, mollifying scapegoat.