All Four Cops Now Charged in George Floyd's Killing

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America



All Four Cops Involved in George Floyd's Killing Now Face Charges
Minnesota officials charged three more former police officers on Wednesday in the death of George Floyd, and added an upgraded charge against the former officer who pressed his knee to Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes. Derek Chauvin, who was previously charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, now faces a more serious count of second-degree murder. Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng, who helped restrain Floyd, and Tou Thao, who stood near the others, were not initially charged, but now face counts of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

* * *

We Cannot Stay Silent About George Floyd
"I'm not saying we were the ones who killed George Floyd. But we have to be the ones who pull that cop off his neck!" In this Patriot Act digital exclusive, Hasan Minhaj responds to the wave of protests over police brutality.

* * *


Sikh Liquor Store Owner Attacked in Hate Crime
Last month in Colorado, a Sikh liquor store owner was brutally attacked by a man who told him to "go back to your country." Lakhwant Singh and his wife were working in their store when the attacker, Eric Breemen, entered and began harassing the couple, damaging numerous items and shouting profanity. When Breemen finally left the store, Singh went outside take a photo of Breemen's license plate in order to report the harassment. Breemen then used his vehicle to ram Singh, who suffered serious injuries. Breemen, who was out on bond for another case, was apprehended and charged with six felonies, including attempted murder, first-degree assault for extreme indifference, first-degree assault for causing serious bodily injury, leaving a scene involving serious bodily injury, vehicular assault and violating bail bond conditions. But what about hate crime charges"?

* * *


K-Pop Fans Take Over #WhiteLivesMatter to Drown Out Racist Posts
On Wednesday, sad little racists apparently tried to get #whitelivesmatter trending, only to be resoundingly thwarted by K-pop fans. Yes, K-pop fans. In an anti-racist move that demonstrates their formidable, highly organized social-media power, K-Pop fans hijacked the hashtag, drowning out white-supremacist messages with nonsensical or anti-racist posts. Moral of the story: don't fuck with K-pop fans.

* * *

Bruce Lee: Art of the Warrior
Ahead of Be Water, the new 30 for 30 documentary on the life of Bruce Lee, ESPN asked eight Asian and Asian American illustrators to reimagine the icon who redefined what an Asian man could be in America.

Do Not F*ck With K-pop Fans

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



Police Asked People To Call Out Protesters. They Got Flooded With K-Pop Instead.
On Sunday, the Dallas Police Department asked people to send in "video of illegal activity" from the Black Lives Matter protests in the city through the iWatch Dallas app, where people can submit photo, video, or text tips about possible crimes. Instead, it received a flood of pictures and videos of K-pop artists. In response to the tweeted request from Dallas Police, hundreds of K-pop fans replied with photos and videos of their favorite artists. Many people also claimed to have submitted videos of the police harming protesters, as well as fan edits of K-pop artists, to the iWatch Dallas app. Lesson: do not fuck with K-pop fans.

* * *

Officer Who Stood by as George Floyd Died Highlights Complex Asian American, Black Relations
The image of then-Minneapolis police Officer Tou Thao, a Hmong American, standing with his back turned as a white officer knelt on George Floyd's neck has ignited a discussion about how to approach the topic of anti-blackness in the Asian American community. Thao, who has a history of being involved in use-of-force incidents, is being described by activists as a symbol of Asian American complicity in anti-blackness following the death of Floyd, a black man who begged for his life while then-Officer Derek Chauvin dug his knee into his neck for more than eight minutes.

* * *


San Jose Officer Benched After Viral Protest Comments
The San Jose Police Department was doing damage control after one of its officers trended nationally on social media for aggressive comments toward demonstrators protesting the George Floyd killing in Minneapolis, shouting "Let's get this motherf—er" and "Shut up, bitch as he manned downtown skirmish lines. The officer, confirmed to be six-year SJPD veteran Jared Yuen, was recorded in multiple instances late Friday afternoon and drew immediate and wide rebukes from thousands of people who watched the video and called for Yuen's firing. As of Monday, authorities confirmed that Yuen has been temporarily taken off street duty and will not be staffing any more demonstrations.

* * *

Fresh Off the Boat & Kim's Convenience Live Table Read
If you missed it, here's video of the casts of Fresh Off the Boat and Kim's Convenience doing a live table read of their respective shows' pilot episodes. Presented by Seed & Spark, the event was a fundraiser benefiting East West Players, Visual Communications, the Reel Asian International Film Festival.

* * *


Casting Call: Growing Up Asian
An Emmy Award winning production company is looking for Asian American families to cast in a new reality series for a premium streaming network. Based on the casting call, it looks like they're looking for super driven Asian American parents who push their kids hard to achieve. Sounds like Tiger Mom: The Series! I don't know... could be a trap. I'll let you decide. Apply here.