Developing: Peter Liang was charged with manslaughter after a bullet fired from his gun struck a wall, ricocheted, and tore through Akai Gurley’s chest.
Byron Smith / for New York Daily News
NEW YORK — A jury has reached a verdict in the trial of New York City police officer Peter Liang for the fatal shooting of Akai Gurley, an unarmed black man in the stairwell of a Brooklyn housing development.
A Brooklyn Supreme Court jury of seven men and five women was considering five counts relating to the November 20, 2014 death of Gurley, who was killed when a bullet fired from Liang's gun, struck a wall, ricocheted, and tore through the left side of his chest.
Liang, 28, was charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, reckless assault, reckless endangerment and one count of official misconduct.
Liang, who testified in his own defense, said his gun accidentally went off when he entered the dark eighth-floor stairwell of the Pink Houses while conducting a vertical patrol – where officers ascend to the top floor of a housing development and walk down the stairs checking each floor.
He said when he entered the pitch-black stairwell, he heard a "quick sound" coming from his left side, which startled him, and led him to "tense up" and fire his weapon.
The stairwell at the Pink Houses
Julio Cortez / AP
During the two-week trial, prosecutors and defense attorneys could agree on one thing – Liang did not intend to kill Gurley.
Prosecutors argued that Liang was "sworn to protect" Gurley, but failed to do so by having this gun out during the vertical patrol
A number of witnesses, including current and former law enforcement officials, testified that police officers can use their discretion as to when to remove their firearm from their holster.
Another major point of contention was the fact that Liang did not administer first aid – such as CPR and chest compressions – to Gurley. During closing arguments assistant district attorney Alexis contended that Liang is not an "untrained civilian," but a qualified NYPD officer who panicked in the line of duty.
Prosecutors called on a number of instructors from the Police Academy to testify about the training recruits receive. While they described to jurors what each officer is taught, Liang and his partner, Landau, testified that they received minimal CPR training and were therefore unable to render aid.
The medical examiner who conducted Gurley's autopsy said basic CPR would not have saved Gurley — his wound required more extensive medical attention.
Gurley's girlfriend, Melissa Butler, who was with him at the time of the shooting, did CPR, following instructions the EMS dispatch was directing over the phone.
"No matter what happened in the police academy with police training, you can rest assured Peter Liang, Shaun, and every other graduate of the academy was better equipped, better trained, and able to do the chest compressions Melissa Butler was forced to do while she knelt in [Gurley's] blood and urine," Alexis said.
Prosecutors claim Liang also failed to alert his supervisors that his gun went off because he was worried he would be fired. Landau, his partner, testified that moments after the discharge, Liang said, "I'm fired."
Liang's lawyers disagree, claiming that the rookie officer did in fact try to call his sergeant, even before he realized his bullet hit Gurley, but Landau yanked the cell phone from his hand and hung up the call.
Once Liang saw Gurley lying wounded on the fifth floor stairwell landing, defense lawyers said he immediately radioed for an ambulance, but the transmission did not go through since there is poor reception in the stairwells.
Liang's lawyer, Robert Brown, called the incident a "freak accident," stating the unlikelihood a bullet would kill someone from a ricochet.
"This is not an accident. This is an officer who couldn't properly handle his gun," Alexis said. "It's no accident [the bullet] hit the wall steps away from where Akai Gurley stood.
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