Cau Bich Tran was born on May 2, 1978, the first child of father Kim Manh Tran and mother Nguyen Thi Hoang. Her younger brother is Bao Kim Tran. Bich Cau came to America at 19, studied English and got work at an assembly plant in Fremont. There she met Dan Quang Bui, who became her partner and father of two children, Tony, 4, and Tommy, 2. Her dreams of one day opening a salon were cut short on July 13, but we can still help the dreams of those left behind
	Memorial Fund Info

On July 13th of this year, Cau Thi Bich Tran, a Vietnamese woman, a mother of two young children, was fatally shot in the chest in her own apartment. Her children were in the next room over, as her husband witnessed the killing in a horrid dismay. Her husband and two children were screaming for help, screaming out of utter shock. But just as strange and as “foreign” as their impoverished home and personal appearances, the words that were screamed were merely indiscernible noises to officer Chad Marshall, the man who put a bullet through Cau Tran’s chest.

The San Jose police department issued a press release – clearly stating that officer Marshall’s shooting was justified – that Cau Tran was clearly holding a deadly “Cleaver” – that she was ready to throw like a dagger. And I can’t help but imagine how this 4 foot 9 inch woman that weighed 90lbs - made officer Marshall feel that his life was in danger. I can’t help but to imagine how officer Marshall possibly thought of movies such “Double Dragon” or “Drunken Monkey” as he centered his aim, shooting to kill Cau Tran without hesitancy. I can’t help but to imagine how my own mother has that the same vegetable peeler that Cau Tran was holding when she was shot through the chest. And for the first time in many years, I am afraid for my own mother. She lives alone in a predominantly white neighborhood – She wears her rice hat to works in her garden, - Her English is broken, and occasionally she uses a Vietnamese Vegetable Peeler. I am afraid for all Vietnamese families.

I am neither an academic nor a professional on race and ethnicity. But I can tell you that Cau Tran would still be alive today if she were white. There is no question that environment influences how much a person would feel threatened. A white person from a middle class neighborhood would be alien to low – income immigrant neighborhoods like Cau Tran’s. For white police officers that only speak English - that “police” those immigrants and citizens “foreign” in every sense of the American lifestyle - their only consolation in these neighborhoods are their side-arms. So I ask you, would it have made a difference if Cau Tran were actually holding a rubber chicken that may have “resembled” a meat “Cleaver?” How many people of color have been killed because they pulled out a cell phone, a pager, or a comb? The important question is - is it really what you are holding – or is it who you are and what neighborhood you come from that makes police officers nervous?

Cau Tran Rally

	The "Cleaver"

Go to www.tranmemorial.com or simply do a “google” search on "Cau Bich Tran in San Jose" for more information. Contact the Asian Law Alliance is San Jose to see what you can do to help.