Taking a stand vs. protester racism
Anti-Asian hate shocked suing cop
An NYPD cop who filed a lawsuit against a protester over racist insults said the rise in anti-Asian crime is something he’s “never witnessed in my life” — while blaming the city’s mental-health crisis for the alarming surge.
Detective Vincent Cheung, who sat down Monday with The Post for an exclusive interview, said if cops are being targeted in these hateful acts, he fears for everyday Asian New Yorkers.
“If this type of behavior is allowed, the old lady collecting cans, she doesn’t have a chance,” Cheung said.
The 16-year veteran of the NYPD, who was raised in Bayside, Queens, by his single mother from Hong Kong, works in Manhattan for the department’s Community Affairs Bureau and said he tries to look out for demonstrators’ free speech and safety.
“So, whether it’s BLM-related, the Stonewall-related one or anything, it could be pro-Trump, we do our best to liaise with an organizer, whether they’re pro-cop or anti-cop,” he said.
Cheung said he was left shaken by what he experienced on March 11 — when Terrell Harper repeatedly called him a “goddamn cat eater” and asked if “he can see right,” comments that were recorded by the detective’s body camera.
“Out of nowhere, for no reason, this guy just comes out of nowhere and just starts laying into us . . . laying into me, really, anti-Asian statements,” Cheung said.
“I got to say, that’s racism that I’ve never witnessed in my life. I was just very, very surprised . . . Racism to the point that I’ve never actually seen before.”
The detective discussed the situation with his supervisor and decided against filing criminal charges vs. Harper because he didn’t commit physical assault or threaten anyone’s safety.
Cheung opted to sue instead, believing he stands a better chance at holding Harper accountable by going the civil route.
“When it comes to criminal charges, looking at the way things are now, what’s even going to happen?” he asked. “Is bringing somebody to Criminal Court even going to happen?”
He added that the city should be focused on fixing the mentalhealth system, which he believes is contributing to the increase in hate crimes.
“I don’t want to blame politics. I don’t want to blame coronavirus. It’s just clearly there’s something lacking in the mental-health system here in New York,” Cheung said, calling the issue a “crisis” that makes it harder for cops to do their jobs.
“Limiting the ability for the Police Department to effectively police streets has put everybody at risk . . . This doesn’t just apply to Asian hate, it’s everybody. Anybody taking the train. Anybody walking in the street,” he said.
He added, “The mental-health crisis is definitely exactly that: a crisis. Until something’s done, I really don’t know.”
Detectives’ Endowment Association President Paul DiGiacomo said his union wasn’t “going to sit down and sit back and take this type of abuse.”
“There should have been [criminal charges] because it was a civilian and that’s when the board of officers and our attorneys decided to bring [a civil complaint] against this individual,” DiGiacomo said.
Cheung told The Post any money he gets from the lawsuit would be donated to a fund to battle anti-Asian hate crimes.
“The civil suit really is going to hold him accountable for his actions, and it’s been pretty well received in the Asian community,” he said.
Harper insisted that the video “was taken out of context.”
“I was showing him what racism feels like since he put that uniform on and doesn’t know what’s going on with his people,” he claimed on Monday.
“It was basically telling him to wake up, you’re fighting in a racist system.”