NYPD officer convicted in death of unarmed man

After the verdict, Gurley’s aunt Hertencia Petersen told the New York Daily News, “We’re not rejoicing”. Jurors are scheduled t…

Police Officer Peter Liang, center, leaves the courtroom after closing arguments in his trial on charges in the shooting death of Akai Gurley, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016, at Brooklyn Supreme court in NY.

The conviction comes a week after a MI police officer was sentenced to 13 months to 10 years for beating an unarmed Black man after a traffic violation.

(Gregory P. Mango /New York Post via AP, Pool).

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson entered the courthouse around 7:05 p.m. and sat next to Kimberly Ballinger, Gurley’s domestic partner.

Mayor Bill de Blasio released a statement on the verdict Thursday night also.

He said he hopes the verdict brings closure to Akai Gurley’s family for the “painful event”.

The prosecutor has accused the rookie officer of recklessly shooting into a dark stairwell “for no reason”. A jury in Brooklyn found Peter Liang guilty in connection with the death of Akai Gurley.

The trial has garnered attention beyond NY because of the national controversy over allegations that police are too quick to use lethal force, sometimes against unarmed people. He faces up to 15 years in prison.

The shooting happened in a year of debate nationwide about police killings of black men.

Gurley was 28 years old, and leaves behind a young daughter. He was patrolling the stairwell in 2014 when he fired his gun. He said Liang, who remains free on bail, would appeal.

The officers went down the stairs onto an eighth-floor landing, while one floor down Gurley and his girlfriend opened a stairway door. Liang, who is married, joined the police academy after a stint as a TSA agent, and one of the assignments he requested upon graduation was the transit arm of the NYPD.

Liang’s sentencing is set for April. The jury has now spoken, and we respect their decision. “It’s no accident [the bullet] hit the wall steps away from where Akai Gurley stood”. Liang also was convicted of official misconduct, a misdemeanor. “Peter Liang, my son was no accident”, said Sylvia Palmer, the victim’s mother. A noise in the darkness startled him, he says, and his finger slipped on the trigger of his gun. His lawyers argued it was a tragedy, not a crime.

During their deliberations, jurors asked to rehear testimony from Liang and other witnesses, CBS New York reported.

Advocates for police accountability have closely watched the case because USA police officers who injure or kill civilians rarely face criminal charges.

Liang then radioed for an ambulance, but he acknowledged not helping Gurley’s girlfriend try to revive him.

In New York, officers are rarely indicted by grand juries, let alone put on trial, for deaths that occur in the line of duty – no officer has been charged in the death of Garner in 2014.

As the jury read the verdict on Thursday, the courtroom audience gasped and Officer Liang broke into tears.

Upon hearing a noise, he says his gun just went off.