Peter Liang, the rookie cop who killed an unarmed Akai Gurley in a Brooklyn project hallway when his firearm “accidentally discharged” has been found guilty of manslaughter today. He faces up to 15 years in prison at his sentencing, which will be on April 14.
In November of 2014, Gurley entered the seventh floor corridor of his building due to the elevator being out of service, and his entrance into the stairwell where Liang was patrolling reportedly startled the rookie cop, who was on duty with his partner, who was not convicted of a crime today. Liang, whose gun was already drawn, then accidentally pulled the trigger, and Gurley was struck in the chest after a bullet ricocheted off a corridor wall. Furthermore, as Gurley clung to his life, rather than immediately call for emergency help, Liang contacted his union rep. Neither off the on-duty officers felt confident in their CPR skills, so they left Gurley’s horrified girlfriend, Melissa Butler, to help her boyfriend fend for his life, an effort that later proved to be futile.
