NYPD Officer Charged in Killing of Unarmed Akai Gurley

A New York City police officer has been indicted for the fatal shooting of an unarmed resident named Akai Gurley.

The New York Daily News reports that Officer Peter Liang was indicted on manslaughter charges. Liang shot and killed Gurley as Liang and his partner made their way down a housing project stairwell Oct. 20, 2014.

In addition to manslaughter, Liang faces charges of reckless endangerment, second degree assault, and official misconduct. The grand jury that brought the charges against Liang began to meet and deliberate Feb. 4.

The mother of Gurley's 2-year-old daughter said that she was happy with the decision to bring an indictment against Liang and that she had faith in the Brooklyn District Attorney. She also thanked the District Attorney. She had previously planned to sue the city for $50 million if an indictment was not handed down.

The Daily News reports that Liang had only been on the force for 18 months at the time of the shooting. The shooting occurred as Liang tried to open a door with the same hand that was holding his service weapon, while his other hand held a flashlight. The light in the stairwell was not functioning at the time of the shooting.

After the shooting, neither Liang nor his partner responded to their radios for six minutes. They instead spent that time texting their police union representative.

Liang is the first officer to be indicted on any charges after a number of unarmed black men were killed by the police in 2014. One incident, involving Eric Garner, which took place in the New York City borough of Staten Island, was caught on video tape. Despite the video tape and the fact that Garner was pleading for his life, and the officer was using an illegal maneuver to restrain Garner, no charges were brought against Daniel Pantaleo, the officer responsible for Garner's death.