The juror's deliberations started Tuesday over the trial of a rookie New York police officer, who was accused of shooting an unarmed black man in Brooklyn. The shooting incident raised US protests against the police authorities.
Peter Liang, 28 years old is charged with manslaughter and two counts of official misconduct over the death of Akai Gurley in 2014, according to Yahoo News. Other filed charges against him include criminally negligent homicide, assault, and reckless endangerment. If Liang is convicted to the said charges, he will spend 15 years in jail.
The victim, Gurley is a 28 year old father of two daughters who was shot by the said officer. The bullet ricocheted off the house wall in a public housing stairwell in Brooklyn. Assistant District Attorney Joe Alexis said, "It's not true that this was a one in a million shot."
He added, Liang fired his gun indiscriminately because he had heard a noise below however, he shot an innocent man and he didn't realize it. CBS Local reported, the prosecutors said, even though he acted "recklessly", he did help the victim a little. Robert Brown, his defense lawyer said at the closing argument, the shot was accidental and he did everything to save the victim.
According to New York Times, as Liang testified and recounted the tragic incident, the Chinese- American officer became emotional. He said he was shocked and in disbelief that someone was struck by the bullet he just fired. Liang added, he struggled to save Gurley, however, he was still accused of not helping the victim. He explained that he had not been properly trained in first aid. Liang was on the job for 11 months before the shooting on November 20, 2014 happened.
He also admitted that he did not report the shooting incident right away. Fearing for his job, he bickered with his partner about which one would phone their sergeant. Gurley's relatives called for Liang to be held accountable for what they see as a callous murder.
