No jail time for Peter Liang in fatal shooting of Akai Gurley

Judge reduces ex-NYPD cop's manslaughter conviction to criminally negligent homicide.



BREAKING: Former NYPD police officer Peter Liang will receive no jail time for the fatal shooting of Akai Gurley. A judge has reduced his manslaughter conviction to criminally negligent homicide.

On November 20, 2014, Liang and his partner were patrolling the Louis H. Pink Houses in Brooklyn. At one point, Liang opened a door into an unlit stairwell and his gun went off. The bullet ricocheted off a wall and hit 28-year-old Akai Gurley, who was walking down the stairs, piercing his heart.

In February, a jury convicted Liang of second-degree manslaughter and official misconduct for failing to help Gurley after he had been shot. He could have been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.

But last month, the Brooklyn District Attorney's office announced that it would not seek prison time for Liang, advising the judge that "a prison sentence is not warranted," and instead recommending probation, home confinement and community service.

On Tuesday, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun sentenced Liang to five years probation and at least 800 hours community service for Gurley's death.

More here: No Jail Time for Ex-NYPD Officer Peter Liang After Manslaughter Conviction Reduced to Criminally Negligent Homicide

Prosecutor recommends no prison time for Peter Liang

Former NYPD officer was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Akai Gurley.



On Wednesday, the Brooklyn District Attorney's office announced that it would not seek prison time for former NYPD police officer Peter Liang when he is sentenced for the shooting death of Akai Gurley.

Prosecutor Won't Seek Prison for Peter Liang, Ex-Officer Convicted in Killing

Instead of jail time, Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson advised that Liang serve five years' probation and six months of home confinement with electronic monitoring, and perform 500 hours of community service.

The rookie officer and his partner were conducting a vertical patrol in a stairwell in the Louis H. Pink Houses in Brooklyn on November 20, 2014, when Liang's gun fired and a ricocheting bullet struck and killed 28-year-old Akai Gurley, who was visiting his girlfriend.

Last month, Liang was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter and official misconduct, and could be sentenced to as much as 15 years in prison.

What are we fighting for? White Privilege or Racial Justice in the death of Akai Gurley

Guest Post by OiYan Poon



Second-degree manslaughter. Manslaughter is legally defined as an "unintentional homicide from criminally negligent or reckless conduct. It can also refer to an unintentional killing through commission of a crime other than a felony."

As I witness fellow Chinese Americans, including family, protest former NYPD officer Peter Liang's manslaughter conviction in the death of Akai Gurley, I struggle to make sense of it all.

Family elders tell me to have compassion for Liang. "It was an accident. He was a rookie cop. Don't lump him together with bad cops. The bullet bounced off the wall and into Gurley's body," they say. They question why white officers like Darren Wilson and Daniel Pantaleo, who killed unarmed African Americans like Michael Brown in Ferguson and Eric Garner in New York City, get to walk free. "Liang is being used by a racist system as a scapegoat for bad policing," they say.

On the specifics of the case, I disagree with my elders. Liang unintentionally shot Akai Gurley, the father of a 2 year-old girl, but then did not try to save his life, and called his supervisor instead of an ambulance. His reckless behavior fits the definition of manslaughter.

While my elders believe Liang should not have been convicted in the death of Akai Gurley, I disagree that Liang should be granted the same unjust immunity that white officers have received in the killings of unarmed Black men. Liang is not the only police officer who has taken an innocent life, and he should not be the only one held accountable for doing so. Those who are angered by the double standard between how the state holds white and Chinese American officers accountable must fight in solidarity with African Americans and other people of color to transform a broken justice system.

I am surprised by my elders' sudden political engagement, and have so many questions.

NYPD officer Peter Liang convicted of manslaughter

Rookie cop found guilty in fatal stairwell shooting of Akai Gurley.



In Brooklyn, jurors have found NYPD officer Peter Liang guilty of manslaughter and official misconduct in the death of Akai Gurley, an unarmed man who was fatally shot in a public housing stairwell in 2014.

Officer Peter Liang Convicted in Fatal Shooting of Akai Gurley in Brooklyn

On November 20, 2014, Liang and his partner were patrolling the Louis H. Pink Houses in Brooklyn. At one point, Liang opened a door into an unlit stairwell and his gun went off. The bullet ricocheted off a wall and hit 28-year-old Akai Gurley, who was walking down the stairs, piercing his heart.

Open Letter from AAPIs calls for #justiceforakaigurley

More than 50 AAPI groups release letter supporting justice for Akai Gurley and indictment of Officer Peter Liang



More than fifty Asian American and Pacific Islander groups from around the country have signed on to an open letter, organized by CAAAV, calling for justice in the fatal police shooting of Akai Gurley, an unarmed, Black, 28-year-old father who was killed by NYPD Officer Peter Liang last fall. The letter follows calls coming from some members of the Asian American community to drop charges against Liang.

Officer Liang was conducting a vertical patrol on November 20, 2014 in the Louis H. Pink Houses in East New York when he fired a shot that killed Gurley, who was visiting the home of his girlfriend.

The letter has been signed by AAPI community organizations and leaders representing diverse constituencies across all regions of the United States, calling for "#JusticeforAkaiGurley and for the systemic overhaul of policing practices and other institutional policies that chronically defund and destabilize Black communities."

The letter also condemns calls from members of the Asian American community for the charges against Officer Liang dropped. CAAAV Executive Director Cathy Dang calls these efforts "divisive, hurtful, and misguided."

"We should all be standing with Akai's family, who have lost a beloved brother, son, and father, and should be fighting to reform policing practices so that more families won't have to suffer the pain they are going through."

Here's the text of the letter:

Sign on for police accountability and #JusticeforAkaiGurley

CAAAV's national open letter calls on Asian American support for police shooting victim.



CAAAV, a grassroots community organization that fights for poor and working class Asian immigrant and refugee communities in New York City, has drafted a national open letter supporting justice for Akai Gurley and calling for Officer Peter Liang to be held accountable for Gurley's shooting death last November.

They're calling on APA organizations and individuals to stand with them and sign on to the letter to show that there is support in the Asian American community for #JusticeforAkaiGurley and for the broader national movement against police violence.

Here's the text of the open letter:

NYPD officer charged with manslaughter in fatal shooting

Peter Liang pleads not guilty to felony charges in the death of Akai Gurley.



On Wednesday, a rookie New York City police officer pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and other felony charges in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man in the stairwell of a Brooklyn housing project last November.

Peter Liang, NYPD Officer Who Fatally Shot Akai Gurley, Charged With Manslaughter

27-year-old Peter Liang, the first New York City police officer indicted in more than two years in connection with a fatal on-duty encounter, was arraigned in the shooting of 28-year-old Akai Gurley.

The six-count indictment includes several felony charges, including second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, second-degree assault, second-degree reckless endangerment and two counts of official misconduct. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.