In the last two decades, the New York City police department has
In the last two decades, the New York City police department has seen a significant surge in Asian-American officers. CCTV America’s Nick Harper reported this story from New York.
The death of Chinese-American police officer Wenjian Liu last month was a grim reminder of the risks that officers of all backgrounds take each day serving the public. Liu was just one of a growing number of Asian-American officers in the police force. Just 25 years ago, there were only 200 Asian-American officers, today, more than 3,000 wear the uniform. About half of the Asian-American officers are of Chinese descent.
Asian officers are now commanding more front line positions, too.
Over the years the NYPD has tried hard to recruit from Asian communities to keep in step with the changing demographics. Those efforts have been rewarded with a police force that now better represents the city it serves.
While considerable progress has been made, Asian-Americans are still under-represented. Officers of Asian descent make up six percent of the force, however Asian-American population in the city is 13 percent.