SAN FRANCISCO — Asian Americans Advancing Justice (Advancing Justice), an affiliation of five civil rights organizations, is horrified by the vicious attack of a Laotian American man by police in Worthington, Minnesota.
Dashcam footage released yesterday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota show Anthony Promvongsa pulling over his car to the side of the road last July. While off-duty, Officer Joe Joswiak approached the vehicle with a gun in his hands, shouting profanities to get Promvongsa out of the car. The officer proceeded to open the door to pull Promvongsa out of the car, punching and kneeing him before pulling him onto the pavement and handcuffing him.
Another uniformed officer is seen turning off the audio of the recording dashcam, leaving the remainder of the arrest silent.
Promvongsa is facing several criminal charges stemming from the traffic stop while Joswiak has yet to be disciplined.
Advancing Justice released the following statement in response to this incident:
“We are outraged and deeply troubled by the video footage of this attack on Anthony Promvongsa. The incident took place on July 28, 2016, which was only a few weeks after Philando Castile’s fatal encounter with Minnesota police.
The abuse Promvongsa suffered in the hands of the police is both unwarranted and excessive. As communities of color, we should not have to endure police misconduct and excessive use of police force as a normal part of our lives.
As the nation’s leading legal and civil rights voice rooted in Asian American communities, we are demanding a full investigation of the incident and that the Worthington Police Department take appropriate personnel actions. We also demand a full and transparent review of the police department’s use of force, racial profiling, dashcam, and deescalation trainings and policies and to prevent tragedies like this from happening again. We must continue to hold police departments accountable for systemic misconduct and racial profiling in their practices.”
Asian Americans Advancing Justice is a national affiliation of five leading organizations advocating for the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and other underserved communities to promote a hair and equitable society for all. The affiliation’s members are: Advancing Justice | AAJC (Washington, DC), Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco), Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, Advancing Justice – Atlanta, and Advancing Justice – Chicago.