Former Officer Peter Liang will not serve any time in prison for fatally shooting an unarmed man in a Brooklyn housing project stairwell two years ago, but was instead sentenced on Tuesday to probation and community service.
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After Liang’s sentencing yesterday, Thompson said that he “respectfully disagree[s] with the judge’s decision to reduce the jury’s verdict and will fight to reverse it on appeal”.
“I find that given the defendant’s background, and given how remorseful he is that it would not be necessary to incarcerate the defendant to have a just sentence in this case”, said Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun, according to The Atlantic.
“This was not an intentional act”, the judge said in court.
A former police officer convicted in the accidental shooting death of an unarmed man in a darkened stairwell was spared prison time Tuesday, and a judge reduced his manslaughter conviction to a lesser charge. The bullet ricocheted and strcuk Gurley, who was one floor below. In a statement released right after the hearing, they argued that the sentence might send a wrong message that officers who kill people are free from any serious consequences. Liang, a rookie cop, with gun drawn for no apparent reason, reportedly fired his weapon when he was startled by a noise. It is rare for police officers even to be charged and brought to court in shooting cases; while this one resulted in a guilty verdict at a three-week trial this winter, the sentencing was deeply disappointing to the family of the victim, Akai Gurley. Chun agreed, reducing the charge to criminally negligent homicide.
“Another black man has been murdered by the hands of the Police Department and the officer is not being held accountable”, Petersen said. Liang’s attorney, Paul Shechtman, had made a motion to vacate after the Daily News published an article alleging that the juror in question, Michael Vargas, did not disclose that his father had been convicted of a crime when asked about it during jury selection.
Liang, a rookie who lost his badge after the conviction, had originally faced up to 15 years for manslaughter in the death of Gurley.
Chinese-American activists organized their own rallies after his conviction, claiming Liang was a scapegoat for police misconduct.
On the Gurley side, demonstrator Daniel Sanchez said the no-prison sentence shows “the justice system doesn’t work for all communities”. “Asian and Asian American communities who are often positioned as proof that racial uplift is possible despite this foundation, have more to gain from seeking justice than maintaining the status quo”. “This is making me sick”, she said, storming out. As a police officer, he is a part of the institutional injustice we see everyday with law enforcement.
Gurley and his girlfriend (who is also the mother of his now 3-year-old daughter) Melissa Butler, had exhausted of waiting for a non-functioning elevator and entered the stairwell.
“A life has been taken”.
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“This simply is not a case of police brutality nor was there any confrontation between the defendant and Akai Gurley”.
