Prosecutors pointed to Liang’s conduct after he fired his gun in the Louis H. Pink Houses in the Brooklyn borough of NY while patrolling on November 20, 2014.
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Liang was also convicted of official misconduct for failing to offer medical aid to the dying Gurley. A manslaughter conviction could lead to up to 15 years in prison.
Kings County district attorney Ken Thompson said the ruling demonstrated that “no matter where you live in Brooklyn, your live matters”.
Liang’s lawyers also said they struggled to understand how the jury could find him guilty in a shooting he said happened accidentally in a pitch-dark stairway. Gurley, 28, had just left his girlfriend’s apartment after she had braided his hair for the trip to Jacksonville. “It’s no accident [the bullet] hit the wall steps away from where Akai Gurley stood”.
Shaun Landau, his partner, who testified at trial under an immunity agreement, said Liang broke down in tears after realizing he had shot someone.
“Then, instead of doing all that he could to help Akai Gurley, he wasted precious time arguing with his partner about calling for help”, Assistant District Attorney Marc Fliedner told jurors last month. The bullet ricocheted and fatally struck Gurley, 28, who was walking down the stairs. “They’re professionals and they’re going to continue to make sure that we enjoy record low crime, and protect each and every New Yorkers in the city of NY”, she said.
“We are moving out of Impact because the issue was that these cops were put together without ever having experience or training with more seasoned officers”, a source familiar with the NYPD’s new initiative explained. One of his lawyers said they would appeal the verdict. NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton immediately declared the shooting an accident, and called Gurley a “total innocent”.
– After almost three weeks of the trial and jury deliberations, there were emotional reactions after the verdict came in in the case against Police Officer Peter Liang.
PBA President Patrick Lynch expressed his disappointment over the verdict, as he believes the jury “came to an absolutely wrong decision”.
“I just turned, and the gun went off”, Liang testified.
Gurley’s fatal shooting was one of several killings of black men, mostly by white officers, that fueled debates and violent protests across the U.S. about the use of excessive force by police, especially against minorities. Liang’s guilty verdict is a rare instance of a USA police officer being criminally charged for opening fire. The gunman later killed himself.
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Liang’s indictment and trial received wide-spread controversy among New York’s Chinese community.
