NYPD Officer Found Guilty Of Manslaughter For Killing Akai Gurley

After 2 days of deliberations, a jury has found former #NYPD officer #PeterLiang guilty of manslaughter, following the 2014 shooting and killing of an unarmed man in a Brooklyn stairwell.

#Liang killed 28-year old Akai Gurley in November 2014, after he and his partner entered the unlit stairwell of a New York project housing complex, Liang with his gun drawn. Gurley, who was with his girlfriend at the time, was located fourteen steps below the officers when he was shot. He was unarmed.

Outside of manslaughter, Liang faced four other counts; including assault, reckless endangerment, criminally negligent homicide and official misconduct. The jury found Liang guilty of the official misconduct charge.

During the trial, Liang’s defense attorney argued that the gun was accidentally discharged and that the officer was unaware that he had shot someone at the time. “He’s shaken and terrified and totally, and I mean totally, unaware that a bullet has struck anything,” the defense said.

The prosecution argued against this notion, stating that Liang shot into the stairwell for “no reason,” acknowledging the fact that after Gurley had been shot Liang made no effort to render aid. “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 stated. “In fact, instead of calling for help, he just stood there and whined and moaned about how he would get fired.”

During his testimony, Liang argued that the reason he didn’t attempt to help Gurley, was because he panicked.

Liang is set to be sentenced on April 14th.

Sources: CNN