NYPD Cop Receives Probation for Killing Unarmed Man in Stairwell

The New York City police officer who shot and killed a man in a darkened stairwell after claiming he had fired his gun accidentally was spared jail time after a judge sentenced him to probation Tuesday.

Peter Liang, 28, was facing up to 15 years in prison after he was [__convicted for manslaughter a__](http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2016/02/nypd-officer-convicted-of-killing-unarmed-man-leaving-him-to-die-instead-of-calling-for-help-or-performing-cpr/)nd official misconduct in February.

Instead, he will serve five years probation and 800 hours of community service for killing Akai Gurley on November 20, 2014.

Gurley, also 28, had stepped into the stairwell of his apartment building with his girlfriend because the elevators were not working.

Liang, who had entered the stairwell with his partner, said he fired his gun after hearing a noise which startled him. The bullet ricocheted off a wall and struck Gurley in the chest.

Liang and his partner, Shaun Landeu, then stepped around Gurley’s body, arguing with each other as to who should call the shooting in. Liang voiced concerns that he was going to lose his job.

Meanwhile, a neighbor called 911 and followed directions from a dispatcher on how to provide CPR because neither cop was trained in that procedure.

As Gurley took his last breaths, Lang texted his police union representative before eventually calling a medic. Despite attempts to save his job, he was fired almost immediately after the shooting.

![](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/maven-user-photos/pinacnews/courtroom-files/LhlGTxQVnU-jb5b_cF6-uA/XOzSfI_ankeorTu_6jkkSA)

Although Liang was continually claimed the shooting was an accident, an [__NYPD firearms instructor testified in January__](http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nypd-detective-akai-gurley-shooting-not-accidental-article-1.2512736) that it takes 11 pounds of pressure to pull a service-issued Glock, which means the shooting was no accident.

Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson, who recommended no jail time for the former NYPD cop, did not even show up to the sentencing.

Last month, he issued a statement saying that Liang was only trying to keep the community safe when he killed Gurley.

> “Peter Liang was indicted, prosecuted and subsequently convicted by a jury because his reckless actions caused an innocent man to lose his life,” Thompson said in a statement last month announcing his recommendation.
> “There is no evidence, however, that he intended to kill or injure Akai Gurley. When Mr. Liang went into that building that night, he did so as part of his job and to keep the people of Brooklyn and our city safe.

Outside the courthouse, more than 200 NYPD cops, including officers from the counter-terrorism unit, were staged, anticipating violent demonstrations, according to the [__New York Post.__](http://nypost.com/2016/04/19/nypd-cop-peter-liang-gets-community-service-for-killing-akai-gurley/)

![](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/maven-user-photos/pinacnews/courtroom-files/LhlGTxQVnU-jb5b_cF6-uA/KzW9LDKtW0en_G7n0b_Keg)

![](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/maven-user-photos/pinacnews/courtroom-files/LhlGTxQVnU-jb5b_cF6-uA/gI58U3l9mkqkir86VjaHjA)

https://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/06/nypd-officer-waited-20-minutes-to-call-for-help-after-accidentally-shooting-akai-gurley/

The New York City police officer who shot and killed a man in a darkened stairwell after claiming he had fired his gun accidentally was spared jail time after a judge sentenced him to probation Tuesday.

Peter Liang, 28, was facing up to 15 years in prison after he was [__convicted for manslaughter a__](http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2016/02/nypd-officer-convicted-of-killing-unarmed-man-leaving-him-to-die-instead-of-calling-for-help-or-performing-cpr/)nd official misconduct in February.

Instead, he will serve five years probation and 800 hours of community service for killing Akai Gurley on November 20, 2014.

Gurley, also 28, had stepped into the stairwell of his apartment building with his girlfriend because the elevators were not working.

Liang, who had entered the stairwell with his partner, said he fired his gun after hearing a noise which startled him. The bullet ricocheted off a wall and struck Gurley in the chest.

Liang and his partner, Shaun Landeu, then stepped around Gurley’s body, arguing with each other as to who should call the shooting in. Liang voiced concerns that he was going to lose his job.

Meanwhile, a neighbor called 911 and followed directions from a dispatcher on how to provide CPR because neither cop was trained in that procedure.

As Gurley took his last breaths, Lang texted his police union representative before eventually calling a medic. Despite attempts to save his job, he was fired almost immediately after the shooting.

![](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/maven-user-photos/pinacnews/courtroom-files/LhlGTxQVnU-jb5b_cF6-uA/XOzSfI_ankeorTu_6jkkSA)

Although Liang was continually claimed the shooting was an accident, an [__NYPD firearms instructor testified in January__](http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nypd-detective-akai-gurley-shooting-not-accidental-article-1.2512736) that it takes 11 pounds of pressure to pull a service-issued Glock, which means the shooting was no accident.

Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson, who recommended no jail time for the former NYPD cop, did not even show up to the sentencing.

Last month, he issued a statement saying that Liang was only trying to keep the community safe when he killed Gurley.

> “Peter Liang was indicted, prosecuted and subsequently convicted by a jury because his reckless actions caused an innocent man to lose his life,” Thompson said in a statement last month announcing his recommendation.
> “There is no evidence, however, that he intended to kill or injure Akai Gurley. When Mr. Liang went into that building that night, he did so as part of his job and to keep the people of Brooklyn and our city safe.

Outside the courthouse, more than 200 NYPD cops, including officers from the counter-terrorism unit, were staged, anticipating violent demonstrations, according to the [__New York Post.__](http://nypost.com/2016/04/19/nypd-cop-peter-liang-gets-community-service-for-killing-akai-gurley/)

![](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/maven-user-photos/pinacnews/courtroom-files/LhlGTxQVnU-jb5b_cF6-uA/KzW9LDKtW0en_G7n0b_Keg)

![](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/maven-user-photos/pinacnews/courtroom-files/LhlGTxQVnU-jb5b_cF6-uA/gI58U3l9mkqkir86VjaHjA)

https://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/06/nypd-officer-waited-20-minutes-to-call-for-help-after-accidentally-shooting-akai-gurley/

Support our Mission

Help us build a database of bad cops

For almost 15 years, PINAC News has remained active despite continuous efforts by the government and Big Tech to shut us down by either arresting us for lawful activity or by restricting access to our readers under the pretense that we write about “social issues.”

Since we are forbidden from discussing social issues on social media, we have created forums on our site to allow us to fulfill our mission with as little restriction as possible. We welcome our readers to join our forums and support our mission by either donating, volunteering or both.

Our plan is to build a national database of bad cops obtained from public records maintained by local prosecutors. The goal is to teach our readers how to obtain these lists to ensure we cover every city, county and state in the country.

After all, the government has made it clear it will not police the police so the role falls upon us.

It will be our most ambitious project yet but it can only be done with your help.

But if we succeed, we will be able to keep innocent people out of prison.

Please make a donation below or click on side tab to learn more about our mission.

Subscribe to PINAC

Bypass Big Tech censorship.

Carlos Miller
Carlos Millerhttps://pinacnews.com
Editor-in-Chief Carlos Miller spent a decade covering the cop beat for various newspapers in the Southwest before returning to his hometown Miami and launching Photography is Not a Crime aka PINAC News in 2007. He also published a book, The Citizen Journalist's Photography Handbook, which is available on Amazon.

Leave a Reply

- Advertisement -

Latest articles