Ruth Bayan
Northwest Asia Weekly
10. Tommy Le’s family won a $5 million settlement
The King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) agreed to pay $5 million for the Tommy Le shooting on June 14, 2017. The settlement was reached less than a month before the civil rights lawsuit began. Le’s family filed a lawsuit in 2018, seeking damages of US$10 million.
According to reports, neighbors called 911 to report that Le, 20, was knocking on the door and threatening them with a knife. When the police arrived, after trying to use a Taser on Le, Deputy Chief Cesar Molina fired three shots at him.
“Le refused the order to put down what they thought was a knife,” the sheriff’s spokesperson said. Cindy West in 2017.
However, no knives were found. One week later, KCSO revised the statement to indicate that Le had a ballpoint pen.
9. Local Vietnamese Americans help Afghan refugees
The Afghan crisis has reopened the painful wounds of many of the country’s 2 million Vietnamese Americans.
Thuy Do, a doctor in Seattle, remembers how her parents tried to leave Saigon after Vietnam fell to communism in 1975. It took several years for her family to finally leave the country. Du and her husband Jesse Robbins (Jesse Robbins) reached out to help Afghans who fled their country this year. The couple had a vacant rental house and decided to provide it to a refugee resettlement group, which provided housing for newly arrived Afghans who needed shelter.
8. Murder of John Huynh
John Huynh, 29, a health insurance salesman and Amway entrepreneur, was murdered on April 25.
After stopping to talk to a resident of his Bothell apartment complex, he was stabbed in the heart and he turned him away for unknown reasons. Huynh died on the spot.
Ian Williams—he didn’t know Huynh and hadn’t had any disputes with him—was charged with second-degree murder.
Huynh’s wife and two friends were among the witnesses, part of which was captured by video surveillance cameras.
7. Stop AAPI Hatred Rally
Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) activists organized several rallies against hate crimes in March, allowing hundreds of people to brave the rain to demand public officials to condemn racism and fund community education. The turnout rate exceeded their expectations, with speeches from community leaders and victims of prejudiced crime.
From March 19, 2020 to September 30, 2021, a total of 10,370 incidents of hatred against AAPI people were reported to Stop AAPI Hate. Among the hate incidents reflected in this report, 4,599 incidents (44.4%) occurred in 2020 and 5,771 incidents (55.7%) occurred in 2021.
6. Tana Lin was appointed as a federal judge & Mike Fong SBA
There are two important appointments involving local leaders. On October 21, the U.S. Senate confirmed civil rights lawyer Tana Lin as a federal judge in Seattle. This former public defender is the first Asian American to serve as a federal judge in Washington State.
Mike Fong, the former senior deputy mayor of Seattle, has been appointed as the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Region 10, which includes regional offices in Alaska, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon.
5. Kshama Sawant survived the removal vote
King County Elections officially certified the recall election on December 7th, showing that Seattle City Councilman Kshama Sawant voted “no” with 50.4% of the vote on the recall issue, and 49.6% voted “yes”, winning by a narrow margin.
The recall question on the ballot cited a minor campaign financial irregularity admitted by Sawant, for which she paid a fine and claimed that she led a protest march to the home of Mayor Jenny Durkan, despite Dekan’s The address is protected by the state secrecy law due to her previous job as a federal prosecutor. The recall question also cited her decision to let in a group of protesters when the city hall was closed due to the pandemic.
4. Japanese woman was attacked in CID
Noriko Nasu and her boyfriend were walking on the streets of Chinatown’s International District (CID) when they were attacked by a man waving a stone in a stocking in February.
Sean Holdip was charged with two counts of second-degree felony assault. Nasu was knocked unconscious, his nose was broken, and his teeth were broken in many places. Her boyfriend Michael Poffenbarger was shot in the head and required eight stitches after the attack.
3. Steve Hirjak is demoted
The first AAPI Assistant Commissioner of the Seattle Police Department was demoted for an incident that caused riots during the 2020 Memorial Day weekend.
Captain Steve Hirjak subsequently filed a $5.48 million claim for discrimination and retaliation against the city, accusing Interim Chief of Police Adrian Diaz (Adrian Diaz) of making him a scapegoat for police clashes with racial justice demonstrators. Hirjak said in the statement that Diaz mistakenly attributed the misconduct of another commander to him.
2. Steve Hobbs appointed Secretary of State of Western Australia
On November 10th, Governor Jay Insley appointed Steve Hobbs as Secretary of State in Washington. Hobbes, of white and Japanese descent, was the first person of color to take on this role.
He grew up in Snohomish County, ran for Congress in 2012, and ran for deputy governor in 2016. Since 2007, he has represented the 44th legislative district of the State Senate. He currently serves as a lieutenant colonel in the Washington State National Guard.
1. Bruce Harrell wins Seattle mayoral race
Bruce Harrell defeated Lorena González, chairman of the Seattle City Council, and became Seattle’s first Asian mayor and second black mayor.
Harrell served as Seattle’s interim mayor for a few days in 2017 after former Mayor Ed Murray resigned on allegations of sexual abuse.
Harrell was first elected to the City Council in 2007 and then re-elected in 2011 and 2015. He was the first Asian-American council chairperson since Liem Tuai in the 1970s.
