A Brooklyn District Attorney has requested probation for a former New York Police Department officer found guilty of manslaughter.
Peter Liang was indicted back in February after killing an unarmed Akai Gurley in a Brooklyn apartment stairwell when his gun “accidentally” discharged in 2014. While a New York jury found Liang guilty of two charges including manslaughter, Brooklyn DA Kenneth Thompson doesn’t feel that Liang deserves to spend even one day in prison for the crime.
“Because the incarceration of the defendant is not necessary to protect the public, and because of the unique circumstances of this case, the People do not believe that a prison sentence is warranted,” Thompson stated in a letter to Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun.
Gurley’s family is outraged by the request and expressed their sentiments in a public statement. We speak as Akai’s mother, aunt and stepfather,” relatives said in a statement. “We are outraged at District Attorney Thompson’s inadequate sentencing recommendation. Officer Liang was convicted of manslaughter and should serve time in prison for his crime,” the family expressed in a statement. “This sentencing recommendation sends the message that police officers who kill people should not face serious consequences,” they said. “It is this ongoing pattern of a severe lack of accountability for officers that unjustly kill and brutalize New Yorkers that allows the violence to continue.”
Sources: NewsOne
