NYPD officer Peter Liang, a rookie, was indicted on Tuesday in the shooting death of Brooklyn man Akai Gurley, according to reports on Tuesday.
A Brooklyn grand jury indicted Liang for the November shooting death of Gurley in an unlit stairwell in the Pink Houses in East New York, reported the New York Daily News. Liang will now face criminal charges in the death, a source told the paper.
The charges weren’t disclosed. Liang is expected to surrender to authorities on Wednesday, the Daily News reported.
Liang let off a gunshot once when he was patrolling the stairways at the Pink Houses.
Liang and his partner didn’t answer their radio for six minutes after the shooting. According to the paper, they instead contacted their union representatives.
Investigators said that Liang was holding his pistol in the same hand he was using to open a door went it went off, NY1 reported.
The NYPD has described the incident as an accident.
Gurley’s domestic partner filed a notice of claim against the city and city’s Housing Authority seeking $50 million.
In December Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams told PIX-11: “I believe that here in Brooklyn, the District Attorney really is focused on making sure justice prevails.”
