Ex-NYPD officer Peter Liang, unlikely to face jail time for stairwell shooting, apologises to victim’s partner
PUBLISHED : Friday, 25 March, 2016, 10:31am
UPDATED : Friday, 25 March, 2016, 10:31am
Associated Press
Peter Liang, a former New York police officer convicted of accidentally shooting an unarmed man in the stairwell of a public housing building, on Thursday apologised to the man’s grieving domestic partner.
Liang, whose manslaughter conviction last month was met with outrage from the city’s Chinese community, met with Kimberly Ballinger at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office.
“He said he was so sorry for her loss, and he told her how devastating it was for him. This was the last thing he ever intended or could imagine,” said his attorney Paul Shechtman.
Ballinger’s attorney, Scott Rynecki, said Ballinger, in turn, talked about her loss.
“She let him know that because of his actions, she now has a three-year-old girl who doesn’t have a father,” Rynecki said. “Her life is upside down now, she has no partner. She told him the man he killed was a good man, and a good father.”
The meeting was brief and sombre, both attorneys said. Liang didn’t try to explain his actions the night of the shooting in a stairwell at the Louis Pink Houses. Ballinger agreed to meet with Liang after about a month of asking by his legal team. She agreed because she wanted to tell him directly of the grief he caused, her lawyer said.
“This was not to accept an apology. This was to talk about what she is missing,” Rynecki said.
The meeting came a day after District Attorney Kenneth Thompson said he would not recommend jail time for Liang. Thompson said he would recommend, instead, five years’ probation, six months of home confinement and 500 hours of community service.
Gurley’s aunt and other activists gathered outside the prosecutor’s office Thursday to protest the decision, demanding steep jail time for Liang and saying they felt betrayed by the prosecutor. A judge will decide if any jail time is warranted at Liang’s April 14 sentencing.
The victim’s family released a statement expressing outrage “at District Attorney Thompson’s inadequate sentencing recommendation”. “Officer Liang was convicted of manslaughter and should serve time in prison for his crime. This sentencing recommendation sends the message that police officers who kill people should not face serious consequences.”
The family added: “It is this ongoing pattern of a severe lack of accountability for officers that unjustly kill and brutalise New Yorkers that allows the violence to continue.”
Liang’s attorney praised the decision by the prosecutors.
“We steadfastly believe in Peter Liang’s innocence,” Shechtman said. “The shooting that occurred that day was an accident, not a crime.”
Liang was fired after the verdict. His partner who was at the scene but not charged was also fired.
“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 his statement released via Twitter on Wednesday. “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.”
Gurley was killed when rookie officer Liang’s gun fired and the bullet ricocheted off a wall, striking Gurley in the chest. Liang and his partner watched while Gurley’s friend administered CPR because, Gurley said, the officers thought the friend was more experienced at it.
City Council member Jumaane Williams called Thompson’s recommendation “deeply concerning.”
“The recommendation could have a chilling effect on accountability,” Williams said in a statement. “It can provide the basis that any officer, even if convicted of manslaughter, should not serve prison time as long as they did not ‘intend’ to kill an unarmed human being. Black life must be shown to have more value.”
Patrick Lynch, president of the NYC Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, offered a different view, saying in a statement Wednesday that Liang should not have been treated as a criminal.
“Police officers are human beings and as such can make mistakes while risking their lives to protect the community,“ Lynch said. ”Criminalising a mistake, even a tragic accidental discharge like this, serves no good purpose. The reasons cited by the DA for justifying no jail time in this tragedy are the very same reasons that the officer should not have been indicted in the first place.“
Liang’s sentencing is scheduled to take place on April 14.
Liang has no prior criminal history, poses no threat and his incarceration is not necessary to protect the public, Thompson said.
“From the beginning, this case has been about justice and not revenge,” Thompson said.
