Police Chief Crowley’s Petition, 1890

That the occupation of property by the Chinese in groups or numbers in any part of the city deteriorates the value of surrounding and contiguous property.
That the Chinese as a race – that is the community of Chinese in this city as a race commit more crimes and offences against the laws, in proportion to their numbers, than any other race or community here . . .
I aver, that the Chinese have no respect for our laws – either federal or state, that when they are arrested they resort to all kinds of fraud and perjury to evade punishment . . .

Police Chief Crowley’s Petition 1890

In Police Chief Crowley’s petition, he said, “the Chinese have no respect for our laws.” In fact, many Chinese respected and knew the laws well enough to use them to combat discrimination.

National Archives, Records of District Courts of the United States