FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Statement of Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson Regarding Indictment of New York City Police Officer Peter Liang For The Death Of Akai Gurley
Shortly after the tragic death of Akai Gurley in a stairwell of the Louis H. Pink Houses in East New York, Brooklyn, I promised to conduct a full and fair investigation to get to the bottom of what happened that night. I can now report that the District Attorney’s Office has completed a thorough investigation into this matter.
Our investigation was led by veteran prosecutors, Marc J. Fliedner, Chief of the Civil Rights Bureau and Joseph Alexis, Chief of the Red Zone Trial Bureau, and Ann Bordley, Senior Appellate Counsel, of the Appeals Bureau.
As a result of the investigation a grand jury has returned a six-count indictment charging New York City Police Department Officer Peter Liang with one count of second-degree manslaughter, one count of criminally negligent homicide, one count of second-degree assault, one count of reckless endangerment and two counts of official misconduct.
Officer Liang was arraigned earlier this afternoon before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun and released without bail. The top count of the indictment carries a maximum of 15 years in prison.
NYPD Officers bravely put their lives on the line every day in service to New York. At no time was this more evident than when several officers responded to a shooting at the Pink Houses. As they always do, Officers rushed in 2724 Linden Boulevard to assist. When the Officers saw Mr. Gurley, they immediately dropped to their knees and attempted to render aid to save Mr. Gurley’s life.
In addition to Assistant District Attorneys Fliedner and Alexis, I extend my gratitude to all of the other Assistant District Attorneys and Detective Investigators on my staff who worked so hard on this case so that the judicial process could be conducted fairly. I am also grateful for the invaluable assistance provided by the the New York City Police Department’s Internal Affairs Bureau and the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office.