Convicted Murderer Peter Liang Gets No Jail Time For Killing Akai Gurley

Photo: (Left) AP, (right) Facebook

Peter Liang is the former New York rookie cop who killed Akai Gurley in a stairwell of a Brooklyn housing project.  Akai was unarmed.  He was doing no wrong; committing no crime.

On February 11, 2016, a jury returned a guilty verdict, convicting Liang of manslaughter.  He faced a sentence of 5 to 15 years in prison.

At his sentencing hearing, Liang apologized to Akai’s girlfriend who is the mother of Akai’s daughter, saying, “I’m not a man of many words.  The shot was an accident.”

Today, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun sentenced Liang to five years probation and 800 hours of community service for the death of 28-year-old dad Akai Gurley — after reducing the charge against the cop.

Peter Liang Found Guilty of Manslaughter For the Killing of Akai Gurley

Justice for Akai

New York police officer Peter Liang, who shot and killed an unarmed man in a New York housing project stairwell in 2014, has been found guilty of manslaughter and official misconduct. Liang was charged with 5 counts in the death of 28-year old Akai.

Liang was charged with manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment, criminally negligent homicide and official misconduct.

The jury consisted of 7 men and 5 women.   During trial, Liang testified in his own defense.  He testified that his gun went off by accident after he entered the pitch-black stairwell and heard a “quick sound” coming from his left side that startled him and caused him to “tense up” and fire his weapon.

A major contention happened at trial when prosecutors presented that Liang did not administer first aid to Akai.  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.

Liang’s sentencing is set for April 14.  The manslaughter conviction carries up to 15 years in prison.  For those not completely informed about the case, we reported on it earlier.  You can also put “Peter Liang” in the search box found on the right-side border.

 

 

NY Police Officer Peter Liang Indicted On 6 Charges

1. second-degree manslaughter,
2. criminally negligent homicide,
3. reckless endangerment,
4. second-degree assault, and
5. – 6. two counts of official misconduct.

Peter Liang, left, arrives in court.

On November 20, 2014, New York City police officer Peter Liang shot and killed 28-year old Akai Gurley. Gurley was unarmed, and reportedly walking with his girlfriend down a stairwell at a Brooklyn housing project when Liang shot him.

Liang alleges that he was opening a door with the same hand that held his gun, and that the shooting was an accident. The grand jury however, returned an indictment of 6 counts against Liang. The question now is, will a jury convict Liang of any or all of the charges?