[17][20] The New York Daily News initiated rumors that their commander had instructed officers in the area not to carry out vertical patrols and instead to conduct exterior policing, and that the officers were texting their union representative as Gurley lay dying. In April, a judge reduced Liang's manslaughter conviction to criminally negligent homicide and sentenced Liang to five years probation and 800 hours of community service. "[48], New York City councilwoman Margaret Chin stated that she was satisfied with the grand jury indicting Liang but had also asked for leniency in Liang's sentencing. Culturally, I was always told to not ruffle any feathers, to not wash dirty laundry outside and to keep my head down, she added, convinced that Asian Americans should now stand in solidarity with other minorities. Forget the cliched myths and stereotypes about how Asian Americans are politically apathetic or dont vote the overwhelming protests, marches and political pressure the community exerted downright frightened me with just its sheer scale. It hurts,' Palmer said. From left to right: Scott Rynecki, Akai Gurley family attorney; Kimberly Ballinger, Gurley's domestic partner; and Hertencia Petersen, Gurley's aunt. All rights reserved, Long Island Driver Wanted for Running From Deadly 7-Car Pileup, Upper East Side Deli Killer Clad in Hazmat Suit Likely Serial Robber: Sources, Viral Kids' Star Ms. Rachel Is Taking a Break From Social Media After Backlash Over Co-Star Who Uses They/Them Pronouns, Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Flight Attendant Hit the Ceiling': 7 Hospitalized After Severe Turbulence Diverts Flight to Virginia, Woman Found Dead in NJ Motel Room: Law Enforcement, Check Your Change! Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Joe Alexis asked Liang. [65] Both radioed for an ambulance as Gurley's girlfriend performed CPR. This happened in 2014, the same year Gurley died, but Pantaleo wasnt even indicted, let alone convicted, despite a clearly stronger case and more outrageous wrongdoing. Liangs gun discharged and the bullet ricochet off the wall and struck Gurley, killing him. And back then, it made sense. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, A month later, Liang began serving out his sentence at a non-profit community center in the city, cleaning tables, mopping floors, and preparing meals. - - . These Valuable Pennies Are Worth Thousands. The documentary had its national television debut on PBS Independent Lens April 12 and remains available for streaming for free until May 11 and on the PBS video app. Overview. We 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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First, that the death of Mr. Gurley was not intentional; this argument, given the. Then he went looking for the bullet and heard someone crying. Liang has already tried once to get his conviction thrown out, which was denied. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. A daily dose of Asian America's essential stories - in under 5 minutes, 2022 NextShark, Inc. All rights reserved.Terms & Conditions. [41] On February 5, 2016, while Liang's trial was underway, two NYPD officers were wounded while conducting vertical patrols at a housing development in the Bronx. Meanwhile, Gurley's girlfriend, Melissa Butler, tried to resuscitate Gurley, following instructions called out by a neighbor who was on the phone with a 911 operator. She tried to be straight forward and honest with everyone. [82][83][84], The incident is the subject of the 2020 feature documentary Down a Dark Stairwell.[85]. The 28-year-old Peter Liang was convicted of a manslaughter charge in February . Police Commissioner William Bratton has said that the patrols are needed to reduce crime[17][20] and vertical patrols continue to be conducted in the Pink Houses. Chinese Americans are arguing that it is unjust that Liang got convicted while the many white cops who have killed unarmed Black people before him walked free. 4 min read. Filmmaker Ursula Liang managed to get inside both camps and gave viewers a unique look in her film Down the Dark Stairwell. Peter Moreno, a former NYPD captain who used to train new officers, says one-on-one instruction with a more experienced officer is invaluable. Cleared 'Cannibal Cop' insists he never planned to kill and Woman who miscarried after NYPD officers 'battered' her in 'I'm dead. Peter Liang leaves the courtroom after his sentencing in New York, April 19, 2016. The rookie NYPD Officer Peter Liang who gunned down an unarmed man in a poorly lit stairwell of public housing broke down on the stand Monday as he recalled the deadly shooting. Officer Richard Neri killed Stansbury, 19, on a roof of the Louis Armstrong Houses in Brooklyn at about 1 am. "I just turned, and the gun went off," Liang testified. Advocates for police accountability are watching Liang's trial closely. Amidst all this, it becomes easy to assign Asian Americans to a position of privilege after all, arent we the model minority?. The controversy also had the potential of escalating tensions between the Black and Asian communities. At one point a Chinese protester supporting Peter Liang walked across the street to protesters in support of Akai Gurley and began a dialogue. Liang's testimony came four days after two other New York City officers were shot and wounded while on stairwell patrol in a different public housing complex. Two rookie police officers were assigned to the Pink Houses where they were conducting routine vertical patrols,[18][19] in which officers scan a public housing complex from the roof to the ground floor, stopping on each level. 1.Introduction. One officer testified that cops are taught to beware of a possible ambush on vertical patrols specifically. Front-runner for Oscar. Theres (also) all this secondary trauma and tertiary trauma that happens to the folks that surround them and are working with them that I didnt really anticipate until I was in it.. She quickly saw that when she saw the huge crowds at rallies which turned out in support of Liang in the Chinese community across the country. Peter Liang, a Hong Kong-born officer with the NYPD, shot Akai Gurley, 28, while on patrol with his partner Shaun Landau. He Played 'Andy Barclay' In Child's Play 1 & 2. The protests largely centered around two claims. Shaun Landau, Liangs former partner who was originally named in the lawsuit, doesnt have to pay because he was released from the complaint, Brown said. Their office accepts new patients. Liang emigrated to the United States as a child to Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, with his parents and grandmother; he also has a younger brother in college. 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The NYC Law Department told NBC News that the city will pay $4.1 million, the Housing Authority $400,000, and former NYPD officer Peter Liang $25,000. Gurley was visiting his girlfriend and getting his hair braided before Thanksgiving. At the trial of Peter Liang, the jurors kept returning to the 11.5-pound trigger of his New York Police Department standard-issue 9mm Glock. 584 Forest Ave, Staten Island, NY 10310. [citation needed] There were differing opinions among Liang's supporters, with some feeling he should not have been prosecuted at all while others felt he should have been given a lesser chargebut all agreed the system needed to change. [26] His lawyers submitted an appeal to Judge Danny Chun while Liang remained free without bail. In evaluating the possibility of equipment failure, they concluded that the 11.5-pound (51-newton) trigger could not have been fired unintentionally. Were an all-volunteer effort of dedicated staff andinterns. A grand jury in 2015 indicted the fired New York police officer of five counts including manslaughter in the death of Akai Gurley, a Black man. [3] Liang turned himself in to authorities the next day and was arraigned. He followed the sound down three flights and saw a man lying wounded and a distraught woman bending over him, Liang said Monday at his manslaughter trial in the 2014 death of Akai Gurley, who was shot in a stairwell in Brooklyn public housing. He believed Liang would be much more productive spending time in community service.[68][9][69]. The case sparked heated debate within the Asian-American community, with some believing Liang was made a scapegoat to compensate for a lack of indictments of white officers involved in police-related deaths of black men. Initially Al Sharpton offered to speak at the service but stepped down after a dispute within the family. Many people might not know this, but despite our large and loyal following which we are immensely grateful for, NextShark is still a small bootstrapped startup that runs on no outside funding or loans. Now new officers are assigned two at a time to work with a more experienced . We stand by that but we're puzzled by the claim that Thom A day after Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson recommended that former New York police officer Peter Liang not serve time in prison for the fatal shooting of Akai Gurley, an unarmed black. Unfortunately, in the case of Peter Liang, this power was poorly used indeed. The other day, we endorsed Brooklyn DA Ken Thompsons call for ex-cop Peter Liang to do no prison time after his manslaughter conviction. [25] Liang's gun discharged as he opened the door and the bullet ricocheted off the wall and struck Gurley once in the chest. While our sentencing recommendation was fair under the unique circumstances of this case, we respectfully disagree with the judges decision to reduce the jurys verdict and will fight to reverse it on appeal., Liang could have been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison for the manslaughter conviction, but Thompson, who has said the officer should not have had his finger on the gun unless he was ready to shoot, told the judge last month that "a prison sentence is not warranted. "You can't see what's behind the wall, you can't see what's above," he explained as he walked the I-team through what a vertical patrol would entail. With our combined strengths in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics, we are better equipped to drive personalised healthcare forward. Granted, there were some cooler heads in the mix, but those more race-conscious protesters were few and far in between. ", Some protesters outside the courthouse showed support for Liang, holding signs that said "tragic accident. Call Dr. Peter Liang on phone number (718) 273-0553 for more information and advice or to book an appointment. He was negligent, and he killed an innocent man as a result. Protesters support former New York Police Officer Peter Liang outside a Brooklyn courthouse before his sentencing for manslaughter in the killing of Akai Gurley, in New York April 19, 2016. And now, instead of the hurried adrenaline of the fight against injustice, I find myself reconciling with the fact that for the past two months, I was defending a killer cop someone who brutalizes people of color, and enforces the twisted, racialized instrument of oppression we call a justice system. She set out to dial down the volume a little bit and not focus on the hot and testy stuff happening on the street. Gurleys supporters want to hold the police accountable. Under the New York sentencing guidelines Liang, now a convicted felon, was looking at 15 years of hard time. A grand jury in 2015 indicted the fired New York police officer of five counts including manslaughter in the death of Akai Gurley, a Black man. "I'm just confused about what happened. You understand that theres a level of trauma when youre dealing with a family that has lost somebody. Q SO-KO, Nagoya, 11 March - 7 May. Even though Peter Liang will not end up serving jail time, the initial facts of this case have not changed; his conviction still stands, and so he remains the only NYPD officer to be convicted of killing an unarmed civilian in a decade, while 120 of his colleagues who did the exact same walk free. But there is a second, stronger argument: Liang was a victim of selective prosecution and racial scapegoating. Liang entered a dark stairwell while patrolling a public housing complex in New York when Gurley apparently startled him. Now these journos arrive several years too late and want you to celebrate them as heroes who rescued students from the clutches of their violent tormentors. Kenny Leu as Officer Mike Tan in "A Shot Through The Wall." Image. I remember when I first heard the news, and spewed out this article in an angry, despondent word vomit. [74][75], After the settlement of Liang's trial, about $260,000 of the money raised for Liang's defence was returned to the donors. . Peter Liang. Many of Liang's supporters demanded that all killers should be prosecuted and that there should be no such thing as selective prosecution, scapegoating, or racism. Liang is not the only police officer who has taken an innocent life, and he should not be the only one held accountable for doing so. Still she admits producing the film elicited strong emotions in her as well. A new film based on a 2014 case involving an Asian American police officer who fatally shot an innocent African American man while patrolling New York City is currently in post-production. Some 40 people gathered at the Pink Houses in Brooklyn Saturday to protest prosecutors plans to recommend no jail at the April 14 sentencing of ex-cop Peter Liang. They requested Landau be fired from the department and for the city to invest in programs like affordable housing, community centers, and after-school programs, instead of hiring more NYPD officers.[38]. Liang said his finger was never on the trigger, but prosecutors dispute that saying pressure must be applied for the bullet to discharge. Akai Gurley, 28, an unarmed, African-American father of a. Anastasia Savira, Echolocation (still), 2023. Officer Peter Liang is charged with manslaughter in the shooting of 28-year-old Akai Gurley in November of 2014. Dr. Peter Liang, MD is a Family Medicine Specialist in Staten Island, NY and has over 8 years of experience in the medical field. A jury convicted Liang of second-degree manslaughter in February for Gurley's death. Kenneth Palmer, stepfather of Akai Gurley, speaks outside state Supreme Court in Brooklyn. [5][6][7], On March 28, 2016, prosecuting Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth P. Thompson recommended to Kings County Supreme Court Judge Danny Chun that Liang serve only house arrest and community service for his sentence. "They are solely dedicated to mentor and train new recruits when they graduate from the police academy., Better training is welcomed by Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch, who believes the Liang verdict will greatly impact the way officers do their jobs. Anger: Almost 15,000 gathered in Brooklyn on Saturday protesting the treatment of Chinese-American cop Peter Liang, who was convicted of manslaughter on February 11 after shooting an unarmed. Its a truly monumental and unprecedented show of force, demonstrating a level of organization and mobilization that neither I nor anyone else thought the community was capable of achieving and man, it was a breathtakingly powerful force to behold. Both Liang, who apologized to Ballinger for shooting Gurley, and the Brooklyn District Attorneys Office have filed separate notice of appeals in the criminal case. "But we have to work constantly to do them the right way," said de Blasio. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? 'I just turned, and the gun went off,' Liang said, explaining that his body 'tensed up'. Long started writing the script in 2015, around the early days of the Black Lives Matter movement. Lawyers for Liang say the evidence doesn't meet legal requirements for the charges, which accuse him of disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk of serious injury or death, and have asked the judge to dismiss the case. Americas. Assistant District Attorney[70] Joseph Alexis claimed the killing wasn't an accident and that Liang chose to place the finger on the trigger. [10], The continued conduct of vertical patrols has also been scrutinized in the wake of Gurley's shooting. "Each officer handles that differently and needs different amounts of training and coaching.". Weve seen bureaucracy, corruption and lots of shirking of responsibility that have led to Peter Liang becoming a scapegoat, Jerry Lo, a protester from Long Island, told the National Public Radio. [44][45], Following his conviction, Asian Americans denounced the verdict at various gatherings across the country. Now new officers are assigned two at a time to work with a more experienced field training officer. By Louis Chan, AsAmNews National Correspondent. The rumors were later debunked by the District Attorney's office but the Daily News did not issue a retraction or apology. A Shot Through the Wall, a 2021 independent film, was based on the incident. March 3, 2016. The conviction has the heads of police unions warning this will have a chilling effect on policing. They have filed notices of appeal. is B. your C. are D. too E. AA: Hello! Peter Liang became an officer in June 2013, which likely meant there was one training officer for about a dozen rookies. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. A former Brooklyn district attorney bureau chief now vying to become the boroughs next top prosecutor claimed Wednesday he had mounting evidence of corruption within the current DAs administration. In response to the settlement, the mayor's office also called Gurley's death a tragedy. But what exactly are we, as Asian Americans, supposed to do with this power? First, that the death of Mr. Gurley was not intentional; this argument, given the facts, is nonsense. Activists protest against the sentence received by former New York Police Officer Peter Liang for manslaughter in the killing of Akai Gurley, outside a Brooklyn courthouse in New York, April 19, 2016. [37][21], When asked by reporters, Mayor Bill De Blasio did not take any sides in this issue, commenting that it was a "tragedy" to Gurley's family and requesting respect to the court's verdict. The 1990s. The conviction of Peter Liang, a Chinese-American officer who fatally shot unarmed black father Akai Gurley, has sparked complex racial tensions People protest on behalf of officer Peter. On February 11, 2016, a year and a day after his indictment, the jury found Peter Liang guilty of Manslaughter and Official Misconduct. We bring the right treatments to the right patients at the right time. Many of the protesters were pro-police, anti-Black Lives Matterand dismissive of Mr. Gurleys death basically co-opting the language of white supremacists. Everything you see today is built on the backs of warriors who have sacrificed opportunities to help give Asians all over the world a bigger voice. [8] On April 19, 2016, Justice Chun sentenced Liang to five years probation and 800 hours community service after downgrading his manslaughter conviction to criminally negligent homicide. Peter Liang Won't See Jail Time as Manslaughter Charge Reduced, who said he didnt feel qualified to administer CPR, Ex-Cop Peter Liang Apologizes to Akai Gurley's Domestic Partner in Meeting, a judge reduced Liang's manslaughter conviction, who apologized to Ballinger for shooting Gurle. We believe this is a fair resolution of a tragic matter, the spokesperson said in a statement. Thousands walked across the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan's Chinatown in April to demand the charges to be dropped, as had been done in the past with white officers. [21] The NYPD's policy on whether an officer should keep a weapon holstered on such patrols is purposely vague and the decision as to when to take out a firearm is left to the discretion of the officers, according to Police Commissioner Bill Bratton. 'The sadness, the emptiness in my heart, the emotional depression is still overwhelming. According to the prosecutors, seconds earlier, Liang, who is left-handed, pulled out his flashlight with his right hand and unholstered his 9mm Glock with his left. On April 19th, a New York State Supreme Court in Brooklyn sentencedformer NYPD officer Peter Liang to five years of probation for the shooting of unarmed Black man Akai Gurley. It appeared neither side knew the other was there and no words were exchanged, according to authorities. Officer Liang is not merely a bad apple, though thankfully he has been stripped of his gun and will likely face a grand jury in coming months. A jury found Liang guilty of manslaughter in February 2016 and was sentenced to 15 years in jail. No decisions have been made and its a complicated chess board," Shechtman said. Liang said he fired unintentionally after a noise startled him while he was patrolling with his gun drawn, his finger on the weapon's side. Go to our Twitter feed and Facebook page for more content. Fearing he would lose his job, he bickered with his partner about which one would phone their sergeant privately rather than radioing in a report Liang said he felt would bring an 'unnecessary' response and pull other officers from their posts. Granted, there were some. Some feel that Liang, as a member of the police force, deserves to be punished while others believe that he was only being used as a scapegoat since White officers in similar situations previously did not face charges. I have the same name as the police officer, but I thought that it might be a little bit of a trigger for folks.. The New York Police Department declined to comment on the allegation, citing the ongoing trial. Earlier this. Peter Wilmshurst wrote a long blog post on the occasion of Lancet's . The officer was patrolling the darkened stairs inside a public housing building in Brooklyn on Nov. 20, 2014, when he fired a single shot. We stand by that but were Police Commissioner Bill Bratton blasted Assemblyman Charles Barron on Friday, saying the state lawmaker practically committed a criminal act by threatening that violence is inevitable if stairwell-shoot cop Peter Liang The fact that he says hes sorry didnt bring Akai back, Kimberly Ballinger told her lawyer after meeting Thursday with Peter Liang the now-former cop who accidentally killed her Assemblyman Charles Barron on Thursday warned of riots, saying violence is inevitable if former NYPD officer Peter Liang gets the no-jail sentence recommended by Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson. . He was charged with second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and two counts of official misconduct. Former New York Police Department officer Peter Liang won't spend a day in prison. Its a truly monumental and unprecedented show of force, demonstrating a level of organization and mobilization that neither I nor anyone else thought the community was capable of achieving and man, it was a breathtakingly powerful force to behold. Akai Gurley, 28 (pictured), was unarmed when he was shoot and killed by an NYPD officer in 2014. [55], Gurley's death was one of several police killings of African Americans protested by the Black Lives Matter movement. [26][27][28] Upon entering, Liang said he heard "a quick sound" to his left which startled him. With George Floyd, the Hmong officer brought the Peter Liang and Akai Gurley case back up as a topic, Long told the South China Morning Post, referring to Tou Thao, the Hmong American officer present at the time of Floyds arrest.

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