For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. A former print journalist and television producer, Liang made the jump to directing with 2014's 9-Man, about a streetball game played in Chinatowns throughout North Americaan intriguing fusion of sports doc and cultural history. District Attorney Thompson plans to appeal todays reduction in the verdict. 'I was panicking. You have entered an incorrect email address! "I never expected this to happen," Butler said. ", "A Look at Recent Police Killings Cited in Protests", "Like Michael Brown And Eric Garner, Akai Gurley's Death Inspires Anger", "The Year in NYPD Public Relations Disasters", "Let's take the longer view on NYCHA's safety", "After Akai Gurley: The Connection Between Maintenance and Safety in Public Housing", "I-Team: Darkened Stairwell Not the Only Problem at Police Shooting Building", "18 provocative documentaries to look for this year", 1992 Patrolmen's Benevolent Association Riot, 2004 Republican National Convention protest activity, Prospect Park alleged police sodomy incident, Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, 20152016 University of Missouri protests, Donald Trump photo op at St. John's Church, 20202023 MinneapolisSaint Paul racial unrest, Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin, Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement, Holding a Black Lives Matter Sign in America's Most Racist Town, Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm, George Floyd Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act, Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act, List of police reforms related to the George Floyd protests, 2020 deployment of federal forces in the United States, Black maternal mortality in the United States, U.S. immigration policy toward the People's Republic of China, One Hundred Years: History of the Chinese in America, Attack on Squak Valley Chinese laborers, 1885, Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, List of U.S. cities with significant Chinese-American populations, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Killing_of_Akai_Gurley&oldid=1142721841, African-AmericanAsian-American relations, African Americans shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States, New York City Police Department corruption and misconduct, November 2014 events in the United States, November 2014 crimes in the United States, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Manslaughter (reduced at sentencing to criminally negligent homicide), $52 million lawsuit filed by Gurley's family against City of New York, This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 00:57. Many of Liang's supporters demanded that all killers should be prosecuted and that there should be no such thing as selective prosecution, scapegoating, or racism. A Shot Through The Wall essentially explores relations between Asians and Black people as racial minorities in the U.S. The film would not have been as powerful without gaining access to organizers on both sides. Granted, there were some. March 3, 2016. However, we still face many trials and tribulations in our industry, from figuring out the most sustainable business model for independent media companies to facing the current COVID-19 pandemic decimating advertising revenues across the board. See Jeff Cohen Now At 48. "Its just been really hard.. After hearing a noise, Liang, who was on a pitch-dark stairwell, accidentally fired his weapon. But this is a prize, remember. Unfortunately, in the case of Peter Liang, this power was poorly used indeed. But prosecutors and Gurley's loved ones say Liang handled his weapon recklessly and did nearly nothing to help Gurley after realizing the bullet had hit someone. [27][36] Media initially reported that both officers had text-messaged their union representatives before calling for help;[21] the claim was refuted as being false by both the police union and the District Attorney's office. [22] The department also insists that officers place their fingers on the trigger only upon encountering extreme and particularized danger. You know, one thing I realized early on is that my name might be a problem for some folks, said the filmmaker to AsAmNews. ,A. [8] On April 19, 2016, Justice Chun sentenced Liang to five years probation and 800 hours community service after downgrading his manslaughter conviction to criminally negligent homicide. Normally, I give the benefit of the doubt to the police, even when it is a gray area that theyre in. Among those not convicted is Daniel Pantaleo, the cop who was caught on video killing Eric Garner, who posed no physical threat, by placing him in a clearly illegal chokehold for 19 seconds during which Garner stated that he couldnt breathe 11 times. Saying he beamed his flashlight and saw no one after firing, Liang acknowledged that he didn't immediately report the shot. Earlier this year, Liangs conviction drew fierce backlash from New Yorks Chinese-American community. Peter Yew was a 27-year-old engineer who, in 1975, was brutally beaten by police officers in Manhattan's Chinatown, when he attempted to intervene after he saw them beating a 15-year-old kid whom. He entered the stairwell on the 7th floor, below Officers Landau and Liang. 'I said, 'Oh, my God, someone's hit,'' Liang recalled as he gave an emotional testimony. No comments have so far been submitted. Peter Liang Caitlin C Murphy Background In May 2021, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force began recommending initiating colorectal cancer screening at age 45 (vs. 50) years. Gurley and his girlfriend entered the seventh-floor stairwell, fourteen steps below them. Police brutality is wrong its unconscionable but I also knew that to selectively prosecute a single Asian American cop would neither make up for ten years of injustice nor advance justice in the years ahead. Fearing he would lose his job, he bickered with his partner about which one would phone their sergeant privately rather than radioing in a report Liang said he felt would bring an 'unnecessary' response and pull other officers from their posts. Shot over several years, it tracks the seemingly divergent protests that emerged as Peter Liang faced . She persevered because she saw this as an important moment in Asian American history which would remain pivotal years from now. Partner of NYPD killer cop says he didn't try to perform CPR Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Alex Murdaugh unanimously found GUILTY of murder of wife and son, Incredible footage of Ukrainian soldiers fighting Russians in Bakhmut, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' [28], The fatal shooting of Gurley is notably[30][31] similar to the shooting death of Timothy Stansbury Jr. that occurred in January 2004. Learn how your comment data is processed. In April, a judge reduced Liang's manslaughter conviction to criminally negligent homicide and sentenced Liang to five years probation and 800 hours of community service. I cant help but bring in a quote from The Great Gatsby, where Nick Carraway describes his role at a party: I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.. The late Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson was not of sound mind during his final months in office, one of his top prosecutors told The Post on Tuesday. 4 min read. ", He continued: "The jury, the voice of the Brooklyn community, agreed and returned the verdict of guilty against Mr. Liang, who is now a convicted felon, forfeited his career as a police officer and must now always live with the fact that he recklessly caused Mr. Gurleys death. Some feel that Liang, as a member of the police force, deserves to be punished while others believe that he was only being used as a scapegoat since White officers in similar situations previously did not face charges. Actor Kenny Leu ( Midway) leads the movie A Shot Through the Wall, inspired by the story of former New York City police officer Peter Liang, who was convicted of criminally negligent homicide. I didnt really realize how difficult it would be to deal with, you know, folks that were experiencing trauma on different levels, she said. Still she admits producing the film elicited strong emotions in her as well. Before Meghan Markle came into the picture, Prince Harry, Prince William, and Kate Middleton seemed inseparable but that does not mean the . We hope you consider making a contribution so we can continue to provide you with quality content that informs, educates and inspires the Asian community. New York City to pay $4.1 million settlement in killing of Akai Gurley. Unfolding in the dark stairwell of a Brooklyn housing project, the shooting inflamed the residents of New York City and thrust two marginalized communities together into the uneven criminal justice system. A friend of mine (who is Asian American) once told me a story from when he was a kid: He and five other friends (all of whom were white) went to one of the friends house and was told by the friends dad that there was only room for five: Its a special kind of loneliness when suddenly you realize why, when that kids dad said there was only room for five, everyone else knew he was talking to you., Contact Terence Zhao at terencezhao at stanford.edu. Its a truly monumental and unprecedented show of force, demonstrating a level of organization and mobilization that neither I nor anyone else thought the community was capable of achieving and man, it was a breathtakingly powerful force to behold. — -- A former New York City police officer who shot an unarmed man to death won't face any jail time after a judge today reduced his manslaughter conviction to criminally negligent homicide. then guest-starred as Jordan Stewart in an episode of the action drama TV series "Baywatch" (1993), played Ben in the TV . 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Former NYPD officer Marc Calcano knows first hand the inherent dangers of conducting vertical patrols. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. His lawyers say the shooting was an accident, not a crime. A Shot Through the Wall, a 2021 independent film, was based on the incident. A grand jury in 2015 indicted the fired New York police officer of five counts including manslaughter in the death of Akai Gurley, a Black man. With our combined strengths in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics, we are better equipped to drive personalised healthcare forward. He had approached the rooftop door with his gun drawn. The NYPD and Mayor de Blasio argue that vertical patrols are essential to safety in public housing. He asserted to have been startled when Stansbury pushed open a rooftop door in a place where drug dealing was rampant. The NYPD says it is investigating those claims. On February 10, 2015, Liang was indicted by a grand jury (seven men and five women)[1] for manslaughter, assault, and other criminal charges (five counts total)[2] after members were shown footage of the unlit house and the 9mm Glock used in the shooting. I cant help but bring in a quote from . Even if we assume that Liang had unintentionally shot Gurley due to a misfire, his subsequent failure to get medical help for him is still unacceptable. While our sentencing recommendation was fair under the unique circumstances of this case, we respectfully disagree with the judges decision to reduce the jurys verdict and will fight to reverse it on appeal., Liang could have been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison for the manslaughter conviction, but Thompson, who has said the officer should not have had his finger on the gun unless he was ready to shoot, told the judge last month that "a prison sentence is not warranted. Melissa Butler, Akai Gurley's girlfriend, cries as she is escorted out of the courtroom by Assemblyman Charles Barron in New York, Tuesday, April 19, 2016. The doctor uses the sample to confirm Kim's infection levels and to prescribe drugs for her; she also asks Kim for informed consent to share the blood sample with a biobank that sequences the sample, creating digital representations of Kim's genetic profile that are shared with numerous research teams . Filmmaker Ursula Liang managed to get inside both camps and gave viewers a unique look in her film Down the Dark Stairwell. I think what is important is to recognise that all JET-Ps basically consist of a mix of concessional loans, market-based locals, grants and guarantees from public and private entities. Check out our new Instagram account. And out of all of those killer cops, guess how many got convicted? Kenneth Palmer, stepfather of Akai Gurley, speaks outside state Supreme Court in Brooklyn. Former NYPD officer Peter Liang's sentenced was reduced today. Before the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd, there was Peter Liang. A jury convicted Liang of second-degree manslaughter in February for Gurley's death. They requested Landau be fired from the department and for the city to invest in programs like affordable housing, community centers, and after-school programs, instead of hiring more NYPD officers.[38]. The rookie NYPD Officer Peter Liang who gunned down an unarmed man in a poorly lit stairwell of public housing broke down on the stand Monday as he recalled the deadly shooting. 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The case sparked intense emotions with many seeing this as another case of police misconduct against the Black community and others seeing Liang as a scapegoat for other injustices. At one point a Chinese protester supporting Peter Liang walked across the street to protesters in support of Akai Gurley and began a dialogue. Liang emigrated to the United States as a child to Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, with his parents and grandmother; he also has a younger brother in college. In his spare time, he likes to explore cities and make pointless maps. We 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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