Officer Xu Meng looked forward to a long career with the Chicago Police Department, but tragic circumstances cut that career short.
His death stunned not only the department, but Chicago’s Chinese community, reports the Chicago Tribune.
It was in June. Protesters were taking to the streets in response to the death of George Floyd. The demonstrations had Chicago Police working overtime with 22 month veteran working 12 hour shifts for 12 straight days.
He came home exhausted on June 10. He would later be found unresponsive at his home along with his wife. She would survive, but he would be declared dead of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.
His family speculates he was so exhausted that night, that after he drove his car into his garage, he forgot to turn it off, according to Officer.com.
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A Go Fund Me page to support the family has raised $179,000 so far.
Organizers of that fundraiser say authorities were alerted when no one picked up the couple’s 5-year-old son from day care. Police went to the home for a welfare check and found the couple in separate rooms.
Henry Lai of the Asian American Law Enforcement Association launched the fundraising drive. He says the response to the drive is a result of hard work to better relations with the Asian community.
“They see us, they feel comfortable, they trust us,” he said. “I think they know they’re safe when they see us,” he told the Tribune.
“Chinatown, because it’s so isolated, a lot of times people are more like, ‘We need to protect our own,’ ” community organizer Consuela Hendricks said. “A lot of residents feel so vulnerable.”
So far nearly 3,000 people have contributed to the fundraising drive which has raised more than 3 times its $50,000 goal.
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