NYC cop indicted for shooting, killing unarmed man in stairwell

By JONATHAN ALLEN REUTERS

10 years ago

A stairwell is seen at a building in a public housing project known as the “Pink Houses” where Akai Gurley was killedin Brooklyn, New York, Nov. 21, 2014. (Reuters/Lucas Jackson)

Protesters, demanding justice for Akai Gurley, march toward New York Police Department’s 75th Precinct from the site of his shooting death in Brooklyn, New York, Dec. 27, 2014. (Reuters/Stephanie Keith)

Friends of Akai Gurley stand by his coffin during his wake at Brown Memorial Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York,Dec. 5, 2014. (Reuters/The New York Times/Richard Perry/Pool)

Akai Gurley’s daughter Akaila sits on her mother Kimberly Ballinger’s lap as Rev. Al Sharpton speaks at the National Action Network in Harlem, New York, Nov. 22, 2014. (Reuters/Carlo Allegri)

NEW YORK — A New York City rookie police officer was indicted by a grand jury on Tuesday for the shooting of an unarmed man while patrolling the darkened stairwell of a housing project last November, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Peter Liang, the officer, was patrolling with his partner in the Brooklyn housing project around 11:15 p.m. on Nov. 20 when his gun discharged a single bullet, killing Akai Gurley, 28, who was in the stairwell a flight below with his girlfriend.

The criminal charge or charges Liang will face were not immediately clear, the Journal said. The Brooklyn district attorney declined to comment.