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AMV Executive Director speaks at the
Vietnamese community press conference about
the misconduct of the Cau Tran Investigation
The Coalition for Justice and Accountability held a press conference on Oct. 15, 2003 Outside the Superior Court, in San Jose, CA. to point out significant problems with the investigation of the tragic shooting of Cau Tran by a San Jose Police Officer on July 13, 2003. At the press conference, the Vietnamese community members released information about the misconduct of the Cau Tran investigation. The Grand Jury will begin hearing the Tran case on October 21. Instead of the usual closed grand jury, the Tran case will be heard by an open and public grand jury. The Coalition for Justice and Accountability was formed following the death of Ms. Tran and is composed of concerned individuals and organizations.
Samina Faheem, AMV Executive Director, gave the following statement at the press conference:
My name is Samina Faheem, Executive Director of the American Muslim Voice.
I am speaking on behalf of Ms. Tran because she can’t speak for herself.
On July 13th 2003 she was negligently killed by a police officer. Till this day I am unable to understand and accept the circumstances around her death. She was shot in her home, seems to me that there was no one in immediate danger from her. She was less than 5 feet and no more than 95 pounds. Two police officers, at least 6 feet, trained to protect? I respect police officers because it is a noble profession. They put their life on the line to protect us or suppose to?
I am very concerned about their safety but we all need to feel safe, especially in our homes, Ms. Tran was no exception. These police officers should have protected her life and should have done everything in their power to protect her life. We should regard every one’s life equally. Because of one police officer a precious life has been lost. Ms. Tran’s children would never have chance to get to know their mother.
- We are demanding for an impartial investigation. Therefore involved police officers should be taken off the case.
We should look into the police policies to ensure public safety.
Other Speakers at the press conference included:
Sam Ho of the Immigrant Leadership Forum,
Richard Konda of the Asian Law Alliance,
Thomas Vu of the Vietnamese Community of Northern California,
Gary Wood of Citizen Tribunal,
Rick Callender of the NAACP and
Felicita Vu Ngo, attorney for the Tran family.
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