Police officer wants badge back after spy charges dropped

Baimadajie Angwang is interviewed at the Law Office of John F. Carman, Esq., Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, in Garden City, N.Y. In a few terrifying minutes nearly three years ago, Angwang's life took an abrupt turn — from a teenaged asylum seeker, U.S. Marine and NYPD officer to an accused spy for China. Last month the government dismissed charges against him without fully explaining why. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Baimadajie Angwang is interviewed at the Law Office of John F. Carman, Esq., Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, in Garden City, N.Y. In a few terrifying minutes nearly three years ago, Angwang's life took an abrupt turn — from a teenaged asylum seeker, U.S. Marine and NYPD officer to an accused spy for China. Last month the government dismissed charges against him without fully explaining why. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN / Associated Press February 12, 2023 5 min read

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (AP) — On a September day in 2020, New York City Police Officer Baimadajie Angwang kissed his toddler goodbye and was about to drive to work when he was surrounded by rifle-toting FBI agents.

You’re under arrest, the bewildered cop was told. The charge: Being a secret agent for China.

Angwang, a former U.S. Marine, spent six months in a federal detention center before he was freed on bail while awaiting trial on charges that he fed information about New York’s Tibetan community to officials at the Chinese consulate in New York.

Then, just as suddenly, it was over. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn dropped the charges Jan. 19, saying only that they were acting “in the interest of justice.” They didn’t explain further.

Now Angwang says he wants to be reinstated to the police force, which suspended him with pay while the case was pending. But more than that, he wants answers.