The Two Sides of the 2006 Murder of Fong Lee by Minneapolis Police (And a Few Interesting Notes)
About the only thing Fong Lee’s Family and the Minneapolis Police agree on is that Fong Lee was shot and killed by Officer Jason Andersen in July of 2006.
*Note: This is a narrative constructed from accounts of events in various mainstream media news sources. This is by no means the full or true story, only an account of each side’s versions of events*
Side 1: Fong Lee had no gun, the police shooting was unjustified.
Fong Lee was a 19 year old kid. He was not a criminal or a gang member. The day Lee was murdered by police he was going to the park to play basketball with his friends.
Lee biked over to meet his friends near City View Elementary School. A police squad car approached them and Lee began biking away. The squad car accelerated, and hit the rear wheel of Lee’s bike. This knocked Lee off his bike. Scared, Lee began running.
Lee ran for his life. Two officers began chasing him, Minneapolis Police Officer Jason Andersen, and his partner for the day State Trooper Craig Benz. Officer Andersen had his gun drawn. After about a block, Office Andersen began firing, hitting Lee 8 times and killing him.
The two police waited for another squad car to arrive on scene. The officer that arrived was Officer Tony Adams from the Fourth precinct. The police knew (or found out) Lee was unarmed. Knowing a homicide of an unarmed youth would cause a lot of commotion in the community, they decided to try to cover up their misdeeds. Officer Adams happened to have another gun. This ‘throw-down’ was obtained by Officer Adams when he responded to a 2004 burglary. The gun was supposed to be in the evidence room in the Fourth precinct.
The decision is made to plant the gun, making it look like Lee was armed and dangerous. The police place the gun a few feet from Lee’s left hand (even though he is right handed). In the police reports they write that Lee was carrying the gun in his right hand.
Police notify Lee’s family. However, they wait over 12 hours to do so. When Lee’s family is contacted they are not even allowed to view his body.
The planted gun is taken in as evidence. They find no fingerprints or DNA evidence on the gun or the bullets inside. The gun’s serial numbers are traced – they realize the gun is supposed to be police custody. Specifically, the gun is supposed to be in the Fourth Precinct’s evidence room. It had been submitted as evidence in a 2004 burglary by Officer Adams.
Police realize their big mistake. Sergeant Michael Fossum submits a supplemental report trying to cover their tracks. This new report claims that the gun that Lee had was from the burglary, but it had never been in police custody. They say there was an error in recording the serial numbers.
Police reach out to the media. They convince the mainstream media that Lee had a gun regardless. They maintain Officer Andersen was justified. Newly-appointed interim Police Chief Tim Dolan holds a press conference. Here Dolan shows off the gun as some sort if proof Lee was indeed armed.
Lee’s family, community members and activists hold a rally. Dolan comes to the rally, and brings the family to view the video footage shot moments before Lee was murdered. Dolan tried to convince the family that Lee had a gun, but the family doesn’t see the gun that is supposed to be in Lee’s hand in the video. Dolan also tells the family Lee’s fingerprints are on the gun, even though they are not.
Dolan sticks by Officer Andersen, and believes his story. Dolan is so confident that Andersen has done no wrong that he allows Andersen to come back to work before the police department even questions Andersen regarding the shooting death of Lee.
Two months later the internal investigation cleared Andersen of any wrongdoing. Shortly after that a Grand Jury also rules that Andersen has done nothing wrong.
In 2008 Officer Jason Andersen is awarded a Medal of Valor for his bravery in the shooting death of Fong Lee.
According to a Star Tribune article from March 31, 2009 Lieutenant John Delmonico, the head of the Police Federation, “...said Officers in several high-profile shootings in recent years didn’t receive them [medals].” Sardonic community members wonder... perhaps they only give Medals of Valor to Officers who kill innocent people?
Side 2: Fong Lee had a gun, police shooting was justified.
Fong Lee might have been young, but he was affiliated with a gang and had a prior criminal record (for trespassing).
While patrolling north Minneapolis, Officer Jason Andersen and his partner that day, State Trooper Craig Benz, saw some young people congregating. They decided to get closer to see what these young men were doing.
Officer Andersen saw a gun being given to Fong Lee. State Trooper Benz thought it was a drug deal.
The officers drive closer, and Lee drops his bike and starts running. Both officers begin chasing Lee on foot. Andersen is closer to Lee and saw the gun in his right hand. Andersen draws his own gun and continues chasing Lee. Benz who is further behind also saw a gun in Lee’s hand, but couldn’t tell which hand it was in.
Andersen yelled at Lee, ordering him to drop the gun. Lee doesn’t, and Andersen fired 4 shots, hitting Lee 3 times. Lee fell, but still refused to drop the gun. Fearing for his safety, Andersen shot Lee 5 more times while Lee was on the ground.
When more officers arrived Fong Lee was dead, and a gun was lying a few feet from Lee’s left hand.
Sensing a public relations crisis, interim Police Chief Tim Dolan holds a news conference. Dolan shows the gun Lee had, and supports his officer’s version of events. Dolan is so confident he allows Andersen to return to work early. Andersen is cleared of any wrong-doing by an internal investigation and by a Grand Jury.
In 2008 Officer Andersen receives a Medal of Valor for his bravery in the justified shooting of Fong Lee.
And a Few Interesting Notes...
· Two months after Fong Lee’s death Tim Dolan is nominated by Mayor R.T. Rybak to be Police Chief (not just the interim Chief).
· Activists have sent a letter to the FBI and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives asking for them to look into the death of Fong Lee.
· Mayor R.T. Rybak maintains his support of Chief Dolan and the work Dolan has done for the Minneapolis Police Department.
· According to an August 2nd, 2006 article by Ron Edwards in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder Officer Andersen, “...spoke with disdain and animus against Asians, Somalis and American Blacks as he used the ‘N’ word as he told tales of being on patrol in the 4th precinct of North Minneapolis. Finally, some of his own White colleagues asked him to tone it down.” This incident occurred in December 2005 at a “gathering of officers.”
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I would also like to point
I would also like to point out that its not really racist when the Minneapolis police dept upholds "Gentleman's Laws" when the culprit is a person of color spitting on the sidewalk or when they hand out tickets for offenses like "Obstructing Pedestrian Traffic" when non-white people are chatting it up on the sidewalk downtown. Minneapolis is the most highly educated city in the country! We're clearly post-racist.
I Disagree...
While individually, the act of ticketing might not be racist, overall the effects have great impact on people of color. When most of the people arrested, ticketed or pulled over are of color that is racist. Minnesota has one of the most disproportionate rates of incarceration in the country in terms of African American rates compared to white rates.
I would like ask when has anyone heard of a white person (who is not homeless or very low income) been targeted, or ticketed for offenses like spitting on the sidewalk. The police use these 'gentleman's laws' to target and control communities of color and the homeless. Most of the laws police chose to enforce downtown are for minor offenses. And the point of such laws are to keep the poor and people of color out of downtown, and out of rich people's view. I had a police officer once tell me during a ride-along, that his job was to, "keep the poor people away from the rich people."
I don't believe that post-racism can exsist in this country until the systematic injustices that have occured over hundreds of years against people of color are addressed fully, openly, and honestly.
White Europeans came to this country and perpetrated a genocide against Native Americans. The effects of such policies are still being felt today in Native American communities. Why is there such poverty, alcohol and abuse rates? Because the United States have set this group up to fail so that we can live on their land and they don't make a fuss.
White Europeans went to Africa and kidnapped African people. They brought them all over the world and forced them to work. In the United States in particular, the justification of ensalvement was race and supposed inferiority. We controlled African Americans for hundreds of years in this country. And this had a major impact that carries on into today.
If you doubt that racism is a problem, or if you think anywhere in the United States is a post-racist society I really urge you to expand your mind and read some books by African American authors and scholars that write about such things. Some names I can think of off the top of my head to look into would be Angela Davis, Mark Anthony Neal, bell hooks, Patricia Hill Collins, and even Franz Fanon (who was Algerian, but wrote much about the colonized subject).
I would also urge you to read about white priviledge. Tim Wise is an excellant and honest scholar that writes about white priviledge, and really looks at himself and how he has benefited from his skin color (and gender).
I was being facetious, I
I was being facetious, I thought that was obvious. Sorry.
Doesn't matter what race the
Doesn't matter what race the person is/was....the matter of the fact if he wouldn't have ran he would still be alive today....plain and simple.
No America you are RACIST...
America is racist live with it. Stop hiding from it has only been 50 years. Even Obama can't help it. :)
You are stupid
By the way, even if he ran it gives no police officer the right to draw and kill the way Officer Andersen did. I have to say he saved his ass and killed an innocent one. Why don't you run from an officer and see if that is what happens. :)
I Hate To Get Into This, But...
For argument's sake, let me ask you something. If America is so horrifically racist, why is it that Asian Americans, many of whom lost absolutely everything to the government in WWII, have been able to boost themselves to a level where, on average, they are more highly educated and have better paying jobs than most whites? Surely, they too were "set up to fail" by the U.S. govt. - yet they have succeeded tremendously in this country. What gives? Is it completely unfair to compare the two groups (apples and oranges) or are there lessons that can be learned here?
Also, just a reminder, as unpopular as it is to acknowledge this, many of the Africans who were sent here as slaves were originally enslaved and then sold to the Europeans by other black Africans.
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making discrimination easier and more fully enhancing your bigotry since 2009!
Is this supposed to be
Is this supposed to be helpful? And, if so, in what way?
Isn't dismissing someone as a
Isn't dismissing someone as a bigot just as much a way to derail these discussions as anything in the link you provided?
No.
No.
Sure it is. It jus happens
Sure it is. It jus happens to be the standard method used by Leftists to derail these discussions which is why you embrace it.
This comparison is an apples
This comparison is an apples to oranges comparison. The internments of Japanese Americans was terrible and unfair, but it occured over a much shorter period of time than slavery did. These Japanese Americans immigrated with the means to suceed in the U.S. (they were able to start businesses). We have to think about the group cohesion that Japanese immigrants had, because that is important. Also, Japanese Americans did not suffer the same types of discrimination as African Americans (although they did suffer discrimination).
The U.S. government had programs that targeted African Americans and Native Americans for sterilization. Also, the U.S. government after WWII denied benefits to African American soldiers. Specifically, this is where redlining really came from. When suburbs were springing up near cities many returning G.I.'s were given incentives to move to them... that is many white G.I.'s. African Americans G.I.'s were denied this same benefit. I can go further into these housing issues, but I urge you to do some research yourself. Japanese Americans were not targets of the same discriminatory laws as African Americans.
Also, yes Africans helped to enslave other Africans. However, this part is a detail most people seem to use as a justification for slavery, and it is not. Africans were given goods and technology in exchange for other Africans they had captured. I highly doubt they were aware of the total impact that slavery would have over time. Also, we really don't know if they were fully aware of the type of slavery they were sending people into. Slavery has exsisted for centuries, but the type of slavery that we had in the U.S. was unique in the brutality, length of time, and racism. I view the point raised by this comment as a way to sideline the discussion of the impact of slavery on African Americans. We don't need to place blame, we need to acknowledge the impact, addresses the problems, and have a better world (in theory).
America isn't racist, America
America isn't racist, America was built on equality before the law.
Which is why police end up being lying, asshole bullies. They consider themselves to be, and for all intents and purposes are, above the law. They harass, beat, mace, taze, arrest, and charge people with laughable, trumped-up "contempt of cop" charges all the time.
That Fong Lee was Asian has little to do with it except for officer Anderson's personal views. In general, the cops won't hesitate to give it to anyone that they consider to be asking for it, they are equal-opportunity thugs.
Yeah, Asians are more
Yeah, Asians are more educated, but you're forgetting about the bamboo ceiling. Asians may be smarter, but the Old White Boy Club is still in charge.
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