A Brooklyn judge will determine Tuesday the fate of the ex-NYPD officer convicted of fatally shooting unarmed Akai Gurley in a public housing stairwell nearly 18 months ago.
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Peter Liang was sentenced to five years’ probation and 800 hours of community service for the 2014 death of Akai Gurley.
As the sentencing approached, dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the courthouse – some supporting Liang, others the Gurley family.
“No justice for Akai Gurley!” yelled Gurley’s aunt, Hertencia Petersen, as she left the court, according to the Post. “This is unacceptable. This is a disgrace to your legacy”.
Testimony during the trial supported Liang’s assertion that the gun went off accidentally, however it also came to light that the former officer did not assist the dying man after the shooting.
Last month, he issued a statement saying that Liang was only trying to keep the community safe when he killed Gurley. Liang’s lawyers accused juror Michael Vargas of having an anti-police bias and lying to hide his father’s criminal past.
But Chun threw that out last week, ruling that Vargas never intentionally deceived the court.
Liang and his partner, Shaun Landeu, then stepped around Gurley’s body, arguing with each other as to who should call the shooting in.
Brooklyn prosecutors had recommended Liang serve no time, based on his record and the circumstances of the trial.
The prosecution said it will appeal the judge’s decision to reduce the verdict.
The death of Mr Gurley, who was black, fuelled nationwide protests against excessive force by police, particularly in dealing with minorities.
Police-reform advocates, however, praised Liang’s February conviction as the first time in more than a decade that an NYPD officer had been found guilty of killing a citizen.
“Growing up my parents thought it was a foolish dream that I wanted to become a police officer”, he told the court.
Supporters of Akai Gurley’s family are demanding prison time for Liang. Similar protests took place in San Francisco and elsewhere, pressing a complaint that a Chinese-American officer should not be convicted of a crime when white officers seldom are convicted or even tried in shooting cases.
A former New York City police officer will find out if he’s going to prison following his manslaughter conviction in the shooting death of an unarmed man in a darkened stairwell. The 28-year-old rookie was patrolling the inside of a public housing project when he opened the stairwell door and fired once. The bullet ricocheted and killed Gurley, 28.
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Thompson had written the judge with a recommendation of five years of probation, including six months of home confinement with electronic monitoring and 500 hours of community service. But the judge on Tuesday reduced the offence to criminally negligent homicide, which carries up to four years in prison.
