On November 20, 2014, 28-year-old Akai Gurley was killed when Officer Peter Liang made the the careless mistake of shooting into a dark stairwell in a Brooklyn housing project. Well, the verdict is in and the decision may or may not come as a surprise.
According to Complex, Liang, who is a minority, was indicted back in February for second degree man slaughter for shooting the unarmed father, where he faced up to almost 15 years in prison. It is reported now that the wait is finally over and Brooklyn Judge, Danny Chun, has ruled no jail time for Liang as the charges have been changed to negligent homicide.
Judge Chun released a statement to the LA Times to support his ruling:
“This was not an intentional act. There’s no evidence, either direct or circumstantial, that the defendant was aware of Akai Gurley’s presence.”, he continues, “Shooting that gun and killing someone was probably the last thing in his mind and probably never entered his mind at all.”
So instead of Liang receiving jail time he will only serve 5 years probation and do at least 800 hours of community service.
Gurley was unarmed and walking with his girlfriend in the Brooklyn Pink Houses project stairwell where Officer Liang was patrolling at the time. Liang apparently spooked by a loud noise shot in the dark and the bullet ricocheted off of the wall and hit the Gurley in the chest. After the shooting, Liang did seem remorseful for what happened, “I was in shock and could barely breathe. I wish I could undo what happened.”
Truly sad story of being in the right place at the wrong time. Lets talk below, do you think justice was served in this case?
TSR Intern: CaDarius B. | IG & Twitter: @cadarius_
http://www.complex.com/life/2016/04/peter-liang-akai-gurley-death-sentencing
