By Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360]
After 19 days on strike, Hmong community activist Zurg Xiong lifted his hunger strike to demand an investigation into the killing of farmer Soobleej Hawj by Siskiyou County police officers in late June.
With snacks and "the best donut in the world," according to the activist, Xiong ended his grueling hunger strike on the afternoon of July 23, after California State Attorney General Rob Bonta's office agreed to investigate Hawj's death.
In an interview with Ethnic Media Services ?EMSXiong said he lost consciousness at many points during his three-week hunger strike, in addition to experiencing palpitations, a dramatic drop in blood pressure, slurred speech, neuropathy in his legs and general weakness.
"My health was getting to a point where I might not have been able to recover. After the second week, there were many times when I thought I was going to die," he said.
Xiong was willing to die if necessary in order to obtain justice for his community.
On the same July 23, Xiong appeared at an EMS press conference along with activists Hmong Tong Xiong and Tou Ger Xiong; during the forum and visibly affected in his health, Xiong presented his demands, including an independent investigation into the killing of Hawj, who was shot with a gun at least 24 times, as well as the release of all video footage of the incident, obtained by body and patrol cameras.
Xiong noted at that press conference that the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office withheld information about the shooting on June 28 and did not release Hawj's name until July 14. Since then, the authorities have not released any further information.
During the same session, Assemblyman David Chiu considered the demand for an independent investigation because, he said, it is necessary to know how and why this death occurred. "A human being lost his life and we all deserve to know why."
He added that there is a "fundamentally" broken relationship between the Hmong community, Siskiyou County, and the law enforcement officers sworn to protect them, a situation that occurs "when law enforcement does not have a connection to or understanding of the communities they serve."
Just minutes after the press conference was adjourned, the Xiongs and their attorney Nancy Ly received a call from Michael Redding, Bonta's special assistant, who told them that the DA's office was aware of the situation and had received many calls and emails asking for an investigation into Hawj's death.
However, "no promises were made about conducting an investigation," Ly clarified, but it was noted that possible discrimination against Asian Americans in Siskiyou County would be looked into.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General's office issued a statement, indicating that its role in a possible investigation would be limited.
"Generally speaking, our role in automatically assuming jurisdiction over officer-involved shootings is limited to specific incidents resulting in the death of an unarmed civilian that occurred after July 1, 2021," the document details.
The authority added that incidents such as these "are generally handled by local police and district attorneys who have the resources of their local jurisdictions to handle them".
"Our direct involvement at this stage generally only occurs under certain exceptional circumstances, for example, if there is a conflict of interest that prevents local authorities from handling the matter," he stresses.
In view of this, Zurg Xiong is not taking his finger out of the wound, as he has made it clear that "if we don't see meaningful action, I will go on hunger strike again."
Racism and attacks, the bread and butter of the AAPI community
The region has a long history of racism, noted Sacramento City Councilwoman Mai Vang, who bluntly pointed out that the police shooting was murder.
"The tragic murder of the father of three cannot be isolated from the discriminatory policies and racist practices that have been occurring over the years in this county," he pointed out.
Asian-American journalist Helen Zia, seconded Vang, explained that Asian Americans have long been invisibilized by public officials, political leaders, the education system, and the criminal justice system, "which has made it possible for injustice and racism to occur without any accountability."
It is worth noting that according to the Stop AAPI Hate portal, since March 2020, 6,600 incidents have been reported against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, mainly motivated by prejudice, reported Manju Kulkarni, co-founder of the organization.
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