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5.03.2010

houston cops arrest and injure chinese diplomat

I'm a little surprised this hasn't gotten more attention... In Houston, three police officers have been restricted to desk duty after they followed a Chinese diplomat into the parking garage of the Chinese Consulate, arrested the man and injured him: China says Houston police beat, injured diplomat.

Officials in China's Foreign Ministry released a statement last week saying police harassed and beat deputy consul-general Yu Boren while he was driving to the consulate. Houston police and the U.S. State Department are investigating the incident.

According to CBS News, Houston police tried to stop a car that was missing a license plate. When the car didn't stop, they pursued it into a garage. Police handcuffed and arrested the driver, injuring him:
According to information obtained by CBS News, Deputy Consular General Yu, 53, was driving in Houston with another passenger, when a marked Houston Police car attempted to pull him over for a missing license plate.

Yu did not slow down and kept driving to the Chinese Consulate, entering a garage via an automatic door with officers in pursuit.

Multiple Houston PD officers chased Yu into the building and placed him in handcuffs. The officers were unaware the building Yu entered was the Chinese Consulate, according a source.

The Chinese diplomat sustained injuries to his head and neck during the arrest and was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital by ambulance. The other passenger, Ms. Ging Hua Deng, was not injured.
Under international practice, the premises of foreign embassies and consulates are outside the jurisdiction of local law enforcement, and diplomats have legal immunity. Considering the sensitive nature of U.S.-China relations, I think some cops are in big trouble.

The officers said they were unaware they had pursued the diplomat into the Chinese Consulate's parking garage. You can be damn sure every cop in Houston is getting a list of addresses for every consulate in the city. More here: Houston Police Send Chinese Diplomat to Hospital.