On Saturday August 11th, a police gang task force raided the Eden Shopping Center - a central part of Northern Virginia's Vietnamese American, Southeast Asian American, and Asian American community - in Falls Church, Virginia. Despite disrupting the entire marketplace and swarming the shopping center with agents, the police only arrested 19 people on misdemeanor gambling charges (WaPo article). Even worse, the next day, police held a press conference alleging that the center was paralyzed and "teeming" with gang activity and violence, disrespected the South Vietnamese flag with an image of the flag reading "Criminal Gang Activity," and then cited the prevalence of the alleged "Dragon Family Gang."

I've only been to Eden Center once, so I don't know much about it, and whether such problems legitimately exist or not. But to paint the entrie Vietnamese American community as criminals in that press conference is just plain wrong. If there were problems, the police's job is to protect the Vietnamese American community, not to arrest people for petty gambling and painting the whole community with a criminal paintbrush. Did the police even have language-fluent undercover officers or translators or have any comprehensive understanding of the market scene? And again, I only recently arrived in the DMV area, but doesn't "Dragon Family" sound like something out of a Jackie Chan movie? If there are legitimate gang problems, the police need to build connections and trust, and work together with the community, which itself is predominantly affected by gang violence, rather than alienating them.

What's worse, it seems like the charges against those arrested have been dismissed: (From another WaPo article)

So while Vietnamese business leaders worked to repair Eden Center’s image, many in the community looked to Wednesday morning, when the first five defendants charged with illegal gambling would go to trial. The suspects said they had been sitting in the mall’s numerous coffee shops or bars and had been unfairly swept up by the raid. More than two dozen supporters gathered with signs outside the Falls Church City Hall and courthouse, and then filed into the courtroom to watch the trials.

The results thrilled them: The first defendant was found not guilty of illegal gambling after a trial, and charges against the next four defendants were dismissed. Spectators broke into applause after Arlington General District Court Judge Thomas J. Kelley Jr. acquitted the first defendant, and they were ejected from the courtroom, but they remained jubilant outside as the other defendants walked free.

“That was very important for the community,” said Due Tran, the defendants’ lawyer and counsel for the Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Washington. “But the big fight now is to equalize the playing field, get Falls Church its reputation back as a strong business center.”

We all know that Asian American and Pacific Islander communities struggle with gangs and violence within our communities, model minority myth notwithstanding. I've seen it firsthand. But police are supposed to serve and protect communities of color, not disrespect our communities and subject community members to racism or abuse. Read through the two articles I linked - they're very informative, and paint a comprehensive view of the challenges of this situation and the mistakes that were made.This stuff's gotta stop happening...

Photo Courtesy of the Washington Post

About me: Hey, I'm Dayne, and I'm a recent graduate of Pomona College. In college, I was active in AAPI student organizing as well as community work. I'm currently based out of Washington, D.C., and I'll be posting two to three times a week with the latest in progressive and AAPI political news and policy analysis, as well as spotlight features on young community leaders. Leave comments and share with friends! Follow me on twitter @ dayne4progress