After a 13-year-old boy was shot and killed by police in Utica, New York, his anguished and outraged family and community members have since called and protested for justice.
A demonstration was held at Utica’s City Hall on Monday, with over 100 people showing up in attendance to support the family of Nyah Mway. The crowd chanted “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!”, and “Say his name! Nyah Mway!”. Protestors called upon the UPD and Utica Mayor Michael P. Galime for a fair investigation and to hold the officers accountable, reported WIBX.
Nyah’s brother, Thoung Oo, addressed the crowd by saying “I feel so sad that I won’t get to see (Nyah) go to high school,”, Syracuse.com reported. “He just graduated from middle school. I can’t believe it. I can’t still wrap my head around it.”. Oo mentioned that his parent’s couldn’t attend the protest because of the emotional toll, saying how they only want justice.
“All I want is to see [Mway] one more time”, said Oo in an emotional interview with WIBX. “I can’t accept the fact that he’s gone from my family. I can’t accept the fact that he’s not going to high school”.
Oo also mentioned that the police’s information about the murder didn’t match what his family was told the night of. According to Oo, police told his family that he died in a shootout.
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Kay Klo, the Executive Director of the Midtown Utica Community Center and the protest organizer, said “The stories that (officials) have been telling the media, telling the family who doesn’t even speak English, none of the stories add up, things don’t make sense”, in an interview with Syracuse.com. “We need to see fully everything that happened that whole evening. We need those responsible to be held accountable.”
On Friday night at 10:18 p.m., Nyah Mway and another 13-year-old boy were stopped by police, due to the fact they allegedly matched the description of suspects in an armed robbery that took place on Thursday, and that one of the boys was jaywalking.
A bystander captured the incident and posted it to Facebook, where it was obtained by CBS News. The body cam footage shows on officer telling the two boys that they need to pat them down for any weapons, with Mway running away and then pointing a replica of a glock17 Gen5 handgun. Police say they thought the gun was real.
Officer Bryce Patterson caught up to Mway and tackled him to the ground and punched him. As both Patterson and Mway were wrestling on the ground, Officer Patrick Husnay opened fire and shot Mway in the chest. Mway was hospitalized and succumbed to his injuries.
Out of Utica’s population of 65,000, 4,200 are of Burmese descent, according to The Center, a nonprofit that helps resettle refugees.
Nyah’s family are members of the Karen ethnic group, and fled from Myanmar to Thailand two decades ago, amidst turmoil and ethnic cleansing. Nyah was born in a Thai refugee camp, and immigrated to the United States 9 years ago through a resettlement program.
According to Htoo, Nyah was interested in math, soccer, and spending time with friends, when he was not caring for his younger siblings. He also had a passion for learning, sometimes attending Bible study with his friends, even though his family are Buddhists. Nyah graduated middle school in Utica on Wednesday.
A GoFundMe has been set up by Nyah’s family to “raise funds for his funeral, legal expenses to seek justice, and family expenses including counseling”.
An investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James and Utica Police Department (UPD) began on Saturday. Patterson and Husnay were placed on paid administrative leave. The UPD’s investigation will see if both officers were following policies and training. Utica Police Chief Mark Williams said the shooting was a “a tragic and traumatic incident for all involved”, in a news conference on Saturday,
In the meantime, Mway’s outraged family and the surrounding immigrant community, have called for justice, and expressed their discontent with the investigation. A vigil for Nwah was held on Saturday by family, friends, and community members, near the scene of the murder, according to Syracuse.com. Attendees showed support by lighting candles and bringing flowers and balloons, and protested by chanting “No justice, no peace”, “Lock ’em up”, and “Say his name”.
“This country is supposed to be a country of freedom, a country of peace”, said one the vigil attendees, Yadana Oo. “What’s going on? Did we run from one persecutor to another?”.
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