Jurors in stairwell shooting trial ask to see firearm guide

“This defendant ignored official training that he received as a police officer – specifically never to put his finger on the trigger of his gun unless he was ready to shoot and his reckless actions cost Akai Gurley his life – a life that Peter Liang had sworn to protect”, District Attorney Ken Thompson said. NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton immediately declared the shooting an accident, and called Gurley a “total innocent”.

The shooting happened in a year of debate nationwide about police killings of black men, and activists have looked to Liang’s trial as a counterweight to cases in which grand juries have declined to indict officers, including the cases of Michael Brown in Missouri and Eric Garner in NY.

The casket of Akai Gurley at Brown is seen during his funeral service at the Brown Memorial Baptist Church on December 6, 2014 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Earlier, they had reheard testimony from Liang and other witnesses.

Liang was sacked from the police force after the verdict was delivered.

Officer Liang acknowledged shooting Gurley, but said he discharged his weapon inadvertently after being startled by a noise. The rookie officer and his parter were on a routine patrol of the Louis H. Pink Houses when they opened a door to the stairwell on the eighth floor. “Police must be held accountable”, Gurley’s stepfather, Kenneth Palmer, said Monday.

The shot ricocheted off a wall and hit Gurley, who had chose to take the stairs with his girlfriend instead of waiting for an elevator.

“Peter Liang says that it was an accidental death”.

Liang was also charged with assault, reckless endangerment and criminally negligent homicide. I need justice for my son. “I just turned, and the gun went off”, he testified.

“I think it’s clear to you that he knew someone was there”, Assistant District Attorney Joseph Alexis told jurors in his closing argument, adding that the shooting was “no accident”.

Liang faces up to 15 years in prison for the second-degree manslaughter charge (any sentencing for the misconduct charge would be served concurrently). The chokehold death of Garner, an unarmed 43-year-old man, sparked street protests, a review of police procedures and calls for a federal civil rights investigation.