Paris police apathy, arrogance disappoint

AChinese national surnamed Liu was shot dead at home in Paris by French police on Sunday. The police told French media that Liu assaulted one of the officers with scissors when they responded to a call, then another officer opened fire on Liu.

However, according to Liu’s daughters, their father went upstairs with scissors that he was using to prepare fish after hearing a neighbor making a loud noise. He had a quarrel with the neighbor and then came back to the kitchen, and continued to prepare the fish. Later, several plain- clothes police requested entry. The scissors- holding father refused to open the door for fearing of intruders, but the police broke in and shot their father dead. Liu’s daughters said that at only 1.6 meters tall and a thin man, their father, aged 56, was unable to attack the police.

The Chinese community in Paris on Monday evening held a demonstration in front of the local police station to protest Liu’s killing. The police used tear gas and batons to disperse protesters. It’s reported some protesters were arrested.

A thin and weak person was shot dead at home. It’s a mistake that cannot be forgiven in any case. Although he was holding scissors in his hands, didn’t open the door under police request and was said to have consumed alcohol, he was in his own house rather than a public place.

Obviously there was misunder- standing between the two sides. Liu mistook the police for intruders, and he was regarded as a dangerous violent man by the police. But when the police break into a private home, they should be more cautious about whether to resort to extreme measures.

Over the past two years, a series of terror attacks in France have left French society upset and tightened nerves of the police. It’s possible that the French police officers regarded Liu as a terrorist.

However, shouldn’t they do a background check? It is not hard for them to find out that the house they were going to check belongs to a Chinese family and Chinese nationals have never been involved in any violent terror attacks in Paris.

The officer who shot Liu may have abused his power. We call on the French side to carry out a serious and thorough investigation into the case, determine the responsibility of and punish the police officer in accordance with the law.

Many Chinese in France think the case reflects the racial bias of the French police. Such feelings should be attended to. Unfortunately, the Paris police showed only indifference and arrogance in the whole case.

The coverage of this case by mainstream French media also made people feel the apathy of French society as the claims of the victim’s family were easily ignored. We sincerely hope that justice can be served to the victim.

Many Chinese in France think the case reflects the racial bias of the French police.