Akai Gurley was shot in the stairwell of the Louis Pink Housing Project in East New York (Brooklyn), NYC, when a police officer's Glock accidentally discharged and the bullet richoted off the wall , fatally hitting him in the chest. The officer never saw the man, nor did he aim at him, or even know the man was shot at the time, yet the Eric Garner protesters want to add this case to a list of shootings by the NYPD that they feel are unfair. Because of public outcry, even after the Police Commissioner ruled it as an unfortunate tradedy, the Brooklyn DA is going to empanel a grand jury in the matter.
In my opinion, This should not be considered for a grand jury just because the man was black, and some want to claim he was shot because he was black. He was struck by a stray bullet, in a dark stairwell. Nobody was gunning for him. IN the Garner case, the force that was used resulted in his death, that is a whole different matter. Whether it was due to training, personal bias in the Garner case of the officer that would have to be determined.
His funeral will be after a private service at Brown Memorial Baptist Church 484 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn, 718-638-6121 on Saturday 12.6.14 Rev. Al Sharpton will be doing the eulogy.
http://pix11.com/2014/12/05/brooklyn-da-to-impanel-grand-jury-in-akai-gurley-case/
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30356534
A US grand jury will get involved in deciding if the officer needs to go to trial in this case. This was an accidental shooting, where is there any ambiguity or question?
Adding to the tragedy surrounding Gurley’s death, the officers involved were not supposed to be doing a patrol in the stairways, the sources said. Deputy Inspector Miguel Iglesias, then the head officer of the local housing command, ordered them not to carry out such patrols, known as verticals. He opted instead for exterior policing in response to a spate of violence at the East New York housing project. “But Iglesias’ philosophy was, ‘I want a presence on the street, in the courtyards — and if they go into the buildings they were just supposed to check out the lobby.”
Others have questioned why two rookie police officers were even ordered to patrol there in the first place.
“How is it acceptable for any protocol to pair rookie officers in high-crime impact zone areas?” asked Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson (D-Bronx), chair of the council’s Public Safety Committee.
http://nypost.com/2014/11/24/rookie-cop-who-fired-fatal-shot-i-think-im-going-to-get-fired/
Liang, 27 years old is the son of a chef Dad and garment factory worker Mom. He is Chinese and is now being targeted himself. Residents of the Pink Houses where Akai Gurley lived have put up wanted posters of him.
http://nypost.com/2014/11/23/wanted-posters-of-cop-taped-up-at-pink-houses/
http://blogs.wsj.com/briefly/2014/11/21/the-nypd-shooting-of-akai-gurley-the-short-answer/
Remarks: Akai Gurley’s death was an accidental shooting. His widow deserves something. The police department should provide income to widows and families of accidental shootings, they owe them that much. But to destroy a rookie cop’s career, that would be an injustice.
[Edited on 12/6/2014 by gina]
Really???
As usual you missed the mark here.
Any cop who shoots without provocation doesn't need to be a cop.
You're worried about his career?
Most reasonable gun owners and hunters know you have to identify your target before you pull the trigger.
If it is an intentional shooting, I totally agree. This was a case of his gun accidentally discharging, yet it is being made into a the police are out shooting unarmed black men case. That's the point I am trying to make. The people who are calling for a grand jury etc. are making it about race.
He had his weapon drawn and his finger on the trigger. If they had different holsters maybe officers would not worry about being able to get it out and shoot in time if the need came up. Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry had a very interesting holster, it had a side release mechanism so he could draw as quickly as needed. YES I am serious. Seems to me it is faster to slide it out the side, than pull it out from the bottom the way the current holsters are designed.
Their is no such thing as a accidental discharge, any serious gunowner knows you have to keep your booger picker OFF the BOOMSTICK!!!!!!!!!!! that was told to me in Boot camp translation keep your finger off the trigger!!!! simple as that.
Unreal.
Blame his holster???
How about the fact that the officers involved didn't bother to try and save the guy's life or even call 911, they texted/called their union rep!
Let the guy die while you cover your a$$ in a manslaughter.
BOTH those cops should be fired and the shooter charged.
It's my understanding from what I read that they did call it in, the young officer did text his union rep first. He also reportedly told the other officer on patrol with him that he was worried about getting fired because his gun went off accidentally, I think this was before he knew the guy was shot.
Nobody unless they were a sociopath would call a union rep to text him that he accidentally shot someone before informing the NYPD. I don't think Officer Liang is a sociopath. He was very upset when other officers arrived on the scene, he was hyperventilating because he was so upset. If he was a sociopath he would not have been upset. (because they do not feel pain, have remorse as normal people do). I think the texting the union rep happened before he knew the guy was shot, otherwise he was terrified and did not know what to do and was asking for help.
[Edited on 12/12/2014 by gina]
Peter Liang, the police officer whose gun went off accidentally, resulting in the death of Akai Gurley, while Officer Liang was on duty has been indicted (6 counts including one of manslaughter) and will appear in court for trial in May. He was in court for arraignment yesterday 2/11/15 and was released on his own recognizance. He is still working for the NYPD in a different capacity.
Peter Liang, the police officer whose gun went off accidentally, resulting in the death of Akai Gurley, while Officer Liang was on duty has been indicted (6 counts including one of manslaughter) and will appear in court for trial in May. He was in court for arraignment yesterday 2/11/15 and was released on his own recognizance. He is still working for the NYPD in a different capacity.
Where do you get the insane idea that his gun went off accidentally???
Triggers don't pull themselves.
I hope they lock this idiot up and the city pays out the ass for this murder.
I heard that sometimes that guns do accidentally discharge, but I do not know the specifics of what he was carrying. If he pulled the trigger, then he shot the wall, the bullet richoted off the wall into Mr. Gurley, he did not even see Mr. Gurley when the gun went off, though maybe he heard him in the stairwell and that is why he had his finger on the trigger. He was going up a dark stairway in a crime ridden neighborhood public housing building.
I think if anything, he should not have been going up a dark stairwell in any building without night vision goggles and a scope in case he encountered any groups of people who were engaged in life threatening criminal activity. (ie. gangs who are not happy an NYPD officer is doing patrols) The reality of the conditions in some of those buildings require appropriate tactical equipment.
I don't know if he should be fired or if he should just be sent for re-training. The death of Mr. Gurley was accidental, there was no intent to kill him. In that line of work, accidents can have deadly consequences, but it was still an accident, to convict him for murder does not seem right. Mr. Gurley was accidentally killed. I don't know what the law provides for that.
[Edited on 2/17/2015 by gina]
I was a NYC Housing Cop for many years, in the day of Crack and the Mayhem attached to it.
I feel badly for the Officer, the victim and his family, this should never have happened. Gina posted that the orders from the CO of the PSA were not to do vertical patrols, if this is true, they did not belong above the first floor, unless they had some reason to believe something was happening in the building.
I can't get into the intricacies of conducting a Vertical Patrol, but they, along with Domestic Incidents are among the most dangerous encounters for a Housing Cop. Very bad things happen in Housing Project Stairways and Hallways. That being said, Gurley was killed by the actions, and possibly inactions of the Cop. The city should pay the family, the Cop will be fired and brought to trial for his actions. I don't know how I feel about him going to Jail for this. But, if something comes out in the trial and he deserves a conviction and possible Jail Sentence, I would have to agree with that.
Ron, I don't agree that it is a Murder, it is something less than that.
Be safe.
We can split hairs on what to call it but both cops showed a depraved indifference to human life when they called/texted their union reps instead of calling 911.
They let him die there.
They both deserve jail sentences.
