New details in Brooklyn stairwell police shooting

ByMICHAEL BALSAMO AP logo
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
WABC-WABC

NEW YORK -- New details have emerged in the case of a New York City police officer charged with fatally shooting an unarmed man in a Brooklyn public housing complex.

Court papers released Tuesday say Officer Peter Liang stood in a hallway arguing with his partner about who should call their supervisor to report gunshot, unaware he had struck 28-year-old Akai Gurley.

Gurley was with his girlfriend at the Louis Pink Houses last November when Liang fired into the darkened stairwell. Gurley was hit once and died at the scene.

Prosecutors say Liang shouldn't have had his finger on the trigger of his gun. They also say Liang didn't call an ambulance after Gurley was shot.

A judge on Tuesday upheld the charges against the officer. He has pleaded not guilty. His attorney claims the shooting was an accident.