The Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”) welcomed NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison’s announcement on August 18 of the formation of an Asian Hate Crimes Task Force in the wake of a string of recent anti-Asian attacks and harassment. Incidents include an 89-year-old woman who was set on fire on July 17 and a woman who was the victim of anti-Asian verbal assault. Overall, there have been more than 2,300 separate racist incidents reported throughout the United States with 317 reported in New York alone.
The task force is reported to comprise 25 officers of Asian descent selected from throughout New York. The officers will be proficient in Mandarin, Cantonese, Fuzhounese, Korean, and Japanese. The task force will also rely on a team of certified translators if needed. Reports of potential hate crimes will be handled by officers of similar cultural and language background.
In conjunction with announcing the formation of the Asian Hate Crimes Task Force, The World Journal and WNBC among others have provided links to AABANY’s Anti-Asian Harassment and Violence guide and other resources to help victims report hate crimes to the prior authorities. With regard to AABANY’s efforts to combat anti-Asian violence, Executive Director Yang Chen was quoted by NBC on AABANY’s commitment “to seek justice, and to educate the broader community about eradicating racism and xenophobia in our society.”
AABANY welcomes the formation of the NYPD Asian Hate Crimes Task Force and will continue to fight against anti-Asian violence and racial prejudice in all its forms. Click here to read more regarding AABANY’s COVID-19 Anti-Asian Harassment and Violence guide in English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.