Shanghai immigrant Fu Yuxia, who was intentionally assaulted by security guards at the New York Consulate 11 years ago, appeared in the civil court of the New York State Supreme Court in Long Island City on July 3 after filing a lawsuit for compensation 9 years later. The judge announced that the court had selected a jury the day before the trial to determine whether the behavior of the consulate security guards was justified, intentional, and offensive.
On the day of the trial, those present included the plaintiff, Fu Yuxia, and her lawyer, as well as the defendant – Samuel Parkinson, the vice president of the security company “Epic Security, Inc” responsible for consulate security, and his lawyer.
Fu Yuxia’s lawyer stated in court that Fu Yuxia and several elderly individuals (who had come to the United States as refugees to escape political persecution by the Chinese government) protested outside the New York Consulate on July 1, 2014, against the Chinese Communist Party’s confiscation of their property. After the protest, as they were heading towards the subway station, they continued expressing their views loudly. At that time, the security guard Samuel Parkinson from the consulate saw this, left his post, entered the consular building, took a black baton, went onto the sidewalk, and pushed and shoved Mr. Ma, an elderly gentleman, with the baton against him, saying, “Cross the street, cross the street.” Parkinson then aggressively pushed and shoved Fu Yuxia, causing her to lose balance and fall heavily on the sidewalk, hitting her head in the process.
According to Fu Yuxia’s complaint, she immediately felt severe pain in her shoulder at the time of the incident. Parkinson was subsequently arrested for charges including third-degree assault, attempted assault, and second-degree harassment. Fu Yuxia was taken to the hospital for treatment. A few days later, due to ongoing neck and shoulder pain, she had shoulder surgery in October 2014, which resulted in her losing her ability to work.
On March 7, 2016, Fu Yuxia went to the consulate again to get a response regarding her demand for the Chinese government to return her house. Inside the consulate, Parkinson recognized her and violently shoved her twice – grabbing her shoulder and chest, throwing her onto the sidewalk, exacerbating her injuries, and sending her to the hospital again. She filed a civil lawsuit for compensation on June 24, 2016.
Fu Yuxia’s lawyer stated that Parkinson, a security personnel of Epic Security, Inc, acted improperly on July 1, 2014, by leaving his post to chase non-violent individuals on a public sidewalk, took up a baton he was not authorized to use, violated standard operating procedures, and failed to issue a verbal warning before using force; on March 7, 2016, he once again used force against civilians without justification. Parkinson’s actions were intentional and offensive. Faced with inadequately trained security guards making mistakes, Epic Security, Inc not only turned a blind eye but also allowed such incidents to recur by failing to take action.
Fu Yuxia’s lawyer interrogated both Parkinson and the vice president of the security company. Parkinson admitted that before the incident occurred, his superior instructed him and other security personnel to be vigilant towards the protesters and to pay attention to the situation across the street. Furthermore, he did not receive any disciplinary action after the incident.
The defendant’s lawyer argued in court that Parkinson’s actions were justified because he was trying to maintain order and protect the consulate at that time. He also mentioned that Parkinson was born in Jamaica, in the West Indies, and had served 23 years in the armed forces there.
Fu Yuxia’s daughter told reporters that her mother was permanently disabled in her shoulder due to the injury caused by the security guards at the New York Consulate while protesting against the persecution by the Chinese Communist Party, which resulted in her loss of labor capacity and significant mental harm. The harm inflicted on her mother by the consulate security guards was intentional, invasive, and typical of cases of cross-border oppression by the Chinese government. Her mother has demanded punitive damages for intentional harm and hopes for a fair judgment by the court. The next court date is set for July 14.