NYC officer convicted of manslaughter in stairwell shooting

New York City police officer Peter Liang appeared in court on Monday, delivering a tearful testimony of the fateful November 2014 night that led to the death of unarmed Black man Akai Gurley.

When he is sentenced April 14, Officer Liang could be imprisoned for up to 15 years.

Last year, Ken Thompson, the Brooklyn district attorney, said that that his office conducted “a thorough investigation” into the shooting before a grand jury returned a six-count indictment charging Liang with second-degree manslaughter as well as negligent homicide, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct.

The prosecution said Liang was startled by Gurley and his partner and fired at Gurley in the stairwell, but missed.

Even after the conviction, some uncertainty lingers in the case, as a judge had yet to rule on a request from Liang’s lawyers to dismiss the charges, the Associated Press noted. The jury issued the verdict Thursday after three days of deliberations.

But prosecutors argued that Liang fired toward the sound deliberately and that he must have known only another person could have caused the noise that surprised him.

Liang’s lawyers said the shooting was a “million-to-one” occurrence, calling it a tragic accident that nevertheless did not amount to a crime. “This bad verdict will have a chilling effect on police officers across the city because it criminalizes a tragic accident”.

The rookie officer was patrolling the stairwell with his gun drawn in 2014 when he fired and struck Gurley. Deliberations stretched into Thursday evening, after jurors asked to review the New York Police Department firearms guide late in the afternoon.

The deaths of black men such as Eric Garner of NY and Michael Brown of Missouri sparked protests across the US. “But when they found Akai Gurley on the fifth floor landing, they realized that they couldn’t anymore”, Alexis told the jury yesterday.

Prosecutors said Liang was reckless and did little to help Gurley. Liang then radioed for an ambulance, but he acknowledged not helping Gurley’s girlfriend try to revive him.

New York City police officer Peter Liang is escorted out of court after he was charged with manslaughter, official misconduct and other offenses on February 11, 2015 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.

The president of the union representing New York City police officers says a jury came to the “absolutely wrong decision” when they convicted an officer of manslaughter in the shooting death of a man in a darkened stairwell of a public housing building.

“If you fire a gun and you know you’re guilty, say “I’m guilty” and that’s it”, he said.