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Hmong Protest Against Police Brutality
By Mike Rhodes
May 23, 2005
Members of the Fresno Hmong community protested today against police violence. Susane Moua, a spokesperson for the group, said Fresno Police Department (FPD) officers brutally attacked Neng May Her during a domestic dispute. Her has been charged with obstructing and resisting the officers. His trial is now taking place in the Fresno County courthouse.
Moua said that the attack on Her happened in July 2004 when the family’s children got into a conflict. The FPD was called, but instead of bringing peace to the family, the officers "immediately used a loud tone of voice toward the mother and attacked the mother verbally to scare her. The officers physically attacked the father when he arrived to the home." According to Moua, Her suffered from multiple bruises and other injuries from this incident. There were photographs at today’s protest to substantiate these accusations.
When about 50 Hmong showed up at the courthouse today, protesting the police abuse of Mr. Her, they were told to leave. Security guards at the Fresno County Courthouse told the group that since they didn’t have a permit, they were not allowed to hold a protest on Fresno County property. The security guards said that the permit rule applies because there were more than 10 people present. The protest was moved several hundred feet away, to a sidewalk across the street from Courthouse Park.
One community activist that I spoke with today said that the security guards were just trying to intimidate the Hmong because they are politically powerless. This activist claims that there is no ordinance limiting protests to under 10 members and that there are events held there all of the time that are not permitted.
A Press Release issued by the protestors says:
"Members of the Hmong community feel that the police officers failed to do their job that night. Instead, they intimidated, insulted and scared the family with load tone of voices, threats, and extreme physical forces at the family who were supposed to receive help. The officers ignored the family’s desperate and constant requests for Hmong officers. The officers told the family that there were none available that night. The officers then arrested the father, and the two sons in the home; and booked them for criminal charges.
This demonstration is to bring community awarness that police brutality will not be toerated. We want the Police Department to drop all criminal charges against Mr. Neng May Her and clear their records. We want the Police Department to refund any money that was paid in terms of bail fees. We want the Police Department to hire more Hmong Police Officers and promote Hmong to higher ranks, hire more 911 Hmong Dispatchers, and stop discriminating against Hmong families who don’t speak English. Hmong Community wants a happy medium with the Police Department so that trust can be build and we can have a stronger relationship."
The protests will continue on Tuesday and Wednesday, starting at 8 AM each day. Community support is invited.
Keep up the fight! Your strength is in your unity!
Thank for the update, Mike.
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By Jerry Bier / The Fresno Bee
On a hot summer night, Neng-May Her rushed home from work after his wife called, saw the gurney and walked quickly toward his door.
He was stopped by police officers, a confrontation followed and Her was handcuffed, pushed to the ground and, he says, kneed in the back and beaten.
But it was Her who was charged with resisting and obstructing the officers. A jury on Wednesday convicted him of the misdemeanor offense.
Her's plight had been the subject of a protest near the Fresno County Courthouse this week in which supporters carried signs and rallied against what they called police brutality and discrimination against the Hmong community.
They promised another legal battle would follow, this time against the police for violating Her's constitutional and civil rights.
"I don't think they respect the Asian community," said Her, 50, who has been in the U.S. more than 20 years and is an American citizen. "I don't think they treated me the way they should."
Superior Court Judge Gregory T. Fain, while saying he respects the jury's decision, also said he believes a lack of communication played a role in what happened July 13.
"That lack of communication really underlies the problems in this case," Fain said, adding that if had the two sides been able to talk to each other "perhaps this situation could have been defused in an earlier stage."
Fain fined Her $50 plus $20 in court costs. Her was not sentenced to jail time.
An odd incident began the confrontation that ended so dramatically.
A daughter of Her's was reportedly talking to a boyfriend in San Jose on the telephone and after the conversation had gone on for several hours, her mother asked her to go to the store to get ice.
The girl kept talking, and her brother kicked over several plastic bins and confronted his sister. The boyfriend called Fresno police long-distance and reported what happened. The brother was charged with a felony assault.
Her's wife, Mai Houa, called Her to tell him what had happened. He rushed home and came upon a scene that included the ambulance, gurney and police.
Deputy Police Chief Robert Nevarez said the officers never drew weapons or batons but acted while trying to protect a crime scene, and they only arrested and handcuffed Her and placed him on the grass after he tried to push past them at the door.
"We've never gotten a complaint from the family," Nevarez said, adding that despite any communication problem, most people would understand that an officer with his arms out blocking entry means you cannot enter.
Emotions in the courtroom ran high after the jurors had left. Her's wife, brothers, a nephew and other supporters sometimes angrily and sometimes tearfully complained to the judge about treatment of Hmong and their efforts to better themselves.
Kevin Her, a nephew, said the officers drew weapons and handcuffs and never tried to talk to Her, who speaks English.
Speakers complained that Fresno police lack proper training.
Nevarez said there are 20 sworn officers, including a lieutenant and two sergeants, listed as Asian-Pacific Islanders among the 778 authorized positions in the department.
Susane Moua, a Hmong activist who led the protest, said the community wanted justice, "and it wasn't served today."
"This issue is not going to stop today," Moua told the judge. "This case is not going to rest."
Other speakers likened the arrest to the infamous Los Angeles beating of Rodney King. Only this time, they said, there were no cameras present.
Officers had testified that they tried to stop Her, but he didn't listen to them and they had to act quickly to defuse the situation.
Tony Moua of the Lao Family Community of Fresno Inc. said after the verdict that Her was beaten by the officers in front of his family "and in our culture, that's very hard for us to take.
"If he was a bad guy, that's a different story," Tony Moua continued.
"But he got beat up, then we lose the case. That's very hard for the community. Justice was not served."
The jury of eight men and four women deliberated about an hour Tuesday and half a day Wednesday before reaching its verdict.
Deputy District Attorney Robert Mangano, who prosecuted the case, declined to comment.
The officers were mistreat this family. I did not heard the whole story. According, the story on this webpage. The officers, jurors and judge were not fair served. Hmong, we need to make our voice.
like what JOHN LENNON said give---- GIVE PEACE A CHANCE
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