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New York Police Harass Youth
from Getting Together (circa 1972); Chinese-American Workers: Past & Present
Q: How were you arrested?
A: I was sitting on a bike and the cop stopped me for a spotcheck. My friend who owns the bike went upstairs for something. The cop took me to look for my friend. After my friend showed him the registration that should have been the end of that. But he also forced me to open my apartment door, which is illegal.
Q: How did he force you to open the door?
A: He twisted my arm behind my back.
Q: What happened in the apartment?
A: He saw a picture of Mao Tse-tung and arrested us for "interrogation" which is illegal. He didn't give us a reason why. Downstairs he threw me against the wall because he said he didn't like Communists. He brought me to the station. On the way he threatened to bring us to South St. for a beating. He also called us "Chinks." I almost blew my top when he said that.
Q: What happened at the station?
A: At the station, when I tried to talk to him reasonably, he threatened to close the door and give us a beating. He forced my friend to take off his glasses so it would be easier to give him a beating.
Q: What were you trying to talk to him about?
A: I was trying to find out what the charges were.
Q: Then what happened?
A: After signing a lot of papers, the cop let my friend go.
Q: Why did they make you stay?
A: The detective came down and told me to stay. He didn't tell me why. He isolated me for a whole hour and then put me in a lineup. The lineup had only two people which was very unfair. It's either him or me that's guilty. The guy identified me through a real small peephole which you can ' 't hardly see. After that, they took my fingerprints without giving a reason. Before they sent me to night court for arraignment, they told me I was involved in an armed robbery.
Q: What happened in court?
A: I waited in a small room with about fifteen people. There was no room to sit. I leaned against the wall sleeping. Legal Aid came and told me about what store I robbed and what things I took which I never heard of. After court, I was sent to Rikers Island and stayed there for four hours and I wasn't fed for twelve hours. Since from when I was arrested to when I was released on bail, I wasn't fed. They also didn't let me make a phone call.
Q: Why? Didn't you know your rights?
A: I knew my rights. I asked them for it but they kept telling me to wait and never gave it to me. That's a violation of my rights.
Q: What happened to the charges?
A: The store owner who told the cop at the lineup that he was definitely sure I was the guy said that he was definitely sure I wasn't the guy in court.
These days, more and more brothers are getting busted on all sorts of trumped up charges. As the crimes rate rises, the police are getting more uptight. Nowadays, everyone from Nixon to the cop on the beat is shouting the slogan "law and order." In Chinatown, the newspapers, CCBA (Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association), and the Fifth Precinct talk about solving the " youth problem." Before, the police didn't care when Chinese people died on the streets, but now whenever they see a Chinese they get uptight. They stop and pick up Chinese youth on the street for no reason. The police want to show how quickly they can solve the "youth problem" by locking up more of us.
We recognize incidents like what happened to the brothers in this interview happen because the police aren't interested in protecting the people and really carrying out justice. Instead, they serve the interests of the Nixons, the Rockefellers, and the CCBAs.
Section 4
Los Angeles Police Harass Chinese Community
Section 2
A Life of Struggle, The Bitter Sadness
Things I Saw and Heard Working in A Restaurant
Interview - Account of An Injured Chinese Restaurant Worker
Restaurant Workers Unite
Working in a Packing House
The Best or the Worst
Story of an "illegal" Immigrant Worker
Section 3
Women in Chinatown
New York Schools
Interview with a Garment Worker
A Credit to Your Race
Interview with an Ex-Secretary
Interview with a Garment Worke