This Got The Whole New York PISSED!!

     Seriously? What is the problem with you damn cops? Really? WTF? Tell me how you're gonna beat this 60 years old grandpa up? FOR playing musical instruments on a PUBLIC park? WTF?

This is just insane.. Theres actually a facebook event saying that... well, just read it below, and please note that I don't hold credit for writing that. I'm just posting it here.

Note: PLEASE DON'T RIOT OUTSIDE OR INSIDE THE POLICE STATION BECAUSE OF THIS. THE BEST WAY IS TO WRITE TO OUR REPRESENTATIVES. TO RIOT WILL JUST CAUSE MORE TENSION IN THE COMMUNITY AND REFLECT POORLY ON US. 

This Sunday, an elderly man who was playing his instrument was arrested by the police in Columbus Park. Apparently there was a noise complaint and the police came to see what was going on. Columbus Park has been known as a community space for the Chinese elderly in the area, and it's well known that they play chess and relax by playing music in the park. Even if there was a noise complaint, there was no need for such force to be used against an elderly man! Watch the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xrTD085eNI&feature=player_embedded
http://www.boweryboogie.com/2011/05/nypd-officers-responding-in-columbus-park-video/

- David Huang:
from Benjamin Zhao at the 5th precinct:
"This is basically what happened. For weeks there has been MANY complaints about the old man because of him using his amps, you were able to hear him from blocks away. This also wasn't the first time hes been arrested AND for the exact same charges. The police were lenient and told the man to pack up and leave but he resisted. This went on for 20 minutes before the police finally decided to give him a summons, which he refused. The reason he was arrested was because he didn't have a permit to use the equipment on the streets. The old man still resisted so they were forced to arrest him. The old man struggled and fell on the floor which is why he was bleeding. The officers pulled out mace because of being surrounded by a mob. Regardless if they are old or not. The worst case scenario would be to have your gun taken. They didn't nit use physical violence towards anyone. The video only shows the part AFTER the old man was bleeding."- David Huang

Even if the man was the cause of noise complaints, I still believe that the situation was mishandled. There should have been a translator on site to tell the crowd what was going on, and it shouldn't have required so many policemen to take down an elderly man. I understand that feelings run high, but please don't act irrationally. I think that the best course of action is to write to our elected representatives and let them handle the precinct.

Write to your elected representatives on this and demand action. The police can't treat our community like this. We won't just let them mistreat our elderly. Let's demand an apology from the precinct for how they mishandled the situation.Let's write to our elected representatives so they know what's going on, and they know that we're angry about this. The Chinese community has been ignored for a long time in NY Politics, because we don't speak up. Long story short, politicians won't give a crap about our community until we start making some noise. So let's show them that we're not a silent community. Let's show them that we have a voice. And that voice WILL be heard. They can't treat our elderly like this, and we won't let them. I'm tired of having our concerns swiped aside. Tell them that we demand to be treated with "courtesy, professionalism, and respect," by the police, and that they can't throw our elderly around like they have no rights!

There hasn't been any news coverage of this. I've contacted the NYTimes, FoxNY, NBC, ABC, NY1, CBS, and WPIX. Hopefully there will be some coverage on this sometime soon.

You can copy and paste what I've written to them, or write your own note.
Here are their email addresses:

Councilwoman Margaret Chin:
chin@council.nyc.gov

Assemblyman Sheldon Silver:
Speaker@assembly.state.ny.us


Subject line: Elderly Man Faces Police Brutality in Columbus Park
Dear Councilwoman Chin:

This Sunday, an elderly man who was playing his instrument was assaulted by the police in Columbus Park. Apparently there was a noise complaint and the police came to see what was going on. Columbus Park has been known as a community space for the Chinese elderly in the area, and it's well known that they play chess and relax by playing music in the park. Even if there was a noise complaint, there was no need for such force to be used against an elderly man! Here is a link on the video: http://www.boweryboogie.com/2011/05/nypd-officers-responding-in-columbus-park-video/ This is outrageous. As a member of the Chinatown community, I demand that something be done about this. It sickens me that an elderly man can be beaten up by the cops in this manner. You can clearly see how hard they are holding him down, and that there is blood on his face. The police need to be held responsible for this; please make sure that they are held accountable for this horrible incident. It is of utmost importance that the police treat the community that they are serving with "courtesy, professionalism, and respect." They were obviously not displaying any of those qualities in the video. Thank you and I await your response on this urgent matter.

Jennifer Li
Chinatown Resident