Former NYPD officer Peter Liang was found guilty Thursday in the shooting death of an unarmed black man in the stairwell of a Brooklyn housing project.
Liang was fired from the police force immediately after his conviction in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn.
Akai Gurley, 28, was shot by a ricocheting bullet fired from Liang’s pistol as he walked down the stairs with his girlfriend.
The rookie officer was also found guilty of official misconduct for refusing to help Gurley as he lay bleeding to death.
Liang and his partner were conducting a “vertical patrol” in the Louis H. Pink Houses housing project on Nov. 20, 2014.
Liang previously said he opened a door to the darkened stairwell and his gun went off. The bullet ricocheted off a wall and hit Gurley in the chest, piercing his heart.
Gurley’s girlfriend, Melissa Butler, testified that Liang paused briefly while she performed CPR on Gurley on the 5th floor landing. She said Liang then proceeded down the stairs without offering assistance.
Liang testified on the witness stand that he didn’t perform CPR on Gurley because he received poor training at the police academy.
The prosecution introduced into evidence audio of Liang’s radio call to police dispatch. The radio call showed the officer did not request an ambulance.
He faces up to 15 years in prison on the 2nd degree manslaughter charge.
Gurley is survived by 2 young daughters.
