NYPD Officer Convicted of Manslaughter in Shooting Death of Akai Gurley

Feb 20, 2016, 19:54

Instead, the prosecution said Liang anxious "whether his mistake would cost him his job", as The New York Times wrote.

Liang's sentencing is scheduled for April 14 and his lawyers plan to appeal their client's conviction.

NYPD Officer Peter Liang is charged with manslaughter for the fatal shooting of unarmed Akai Gurley in a Pink Houses stairwell.

"I'm just glad we got a guilty verdict", said Kimberly Ballinger, Gurley's domestic partner and the mother of his daughter. The jurors each had the opportunity to squeeze the trigger of the gun, and they all decided it was not feasible the gun fired accidentally.

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The conviction comes amid a national conversation about policing in black neighborhoods after a number of killings of unarmed black men by police officers nationwide.

PBA President Patrick Lynch expressed his disappointment over the verdict, as he believes the jury "came to an absolutely wrong decision". He said he had his gun drawn because the housing complex was a "high crime area", though prosecutors countered by saying Liang was trying to make it seem as though his life was in danger when it wasn't.

Meanwhile, a Facebook group called Free Officer Peter Liang-created by an unidentified supporter-features posts and comments from several people who self-identify as being Chinese expressing support for Liang.

A spokesman for the New York Police Department says an officer convicted of fatally shooting a man in a darkened stairwell of a public housing building has been fired.

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The 28-year-old was also found guilty of official misconduct after a 911 call revealed he didn't assist Gurley, 28, who bled to death. Here, Liang sits in court as testimony is read back for jurors during deliberations in Brooklyn Supreme Court this week. They made it before the verdict.

Liang then radioed for an ambulance, but he acknowledged not helping Gurley's girlfriend try to revive him. While New York police officers often fill rows of courtroom seats when one of their own faces charges, few officers appeared in court during Liang's trial. The officer in that case was never indicted, and Garner said she is happy for the Gurley family and for the future.

Prosecutors said Liang handled his gun recklessly and did nearly nothing to help Gurley. Liang did not assist Butler or attempt to resuscitate Gurley in any way, however, claiming that it would be better to wait for professional aid.

Liang shot Gurley in November of 2014, during a patrol in a stairwell at a Brooklyn housing project. And the jury's decision is a rare instance in which a police officer was convicted of killing someone in the line of duty.

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