By Stephen Witt (Special rewritten version courtesy of Our Time Press)
After a weekend of angry protests in East New York in the police shooting death of unarmed Akai Gurley, 28, most elected officials spoke about reforming the NYPD, but stopped short of calling on Mayor de Blasio to fire police commissioner William Bratton.
The shooting death occurred in a darkened stairwell of NYCHA’s Pink Houses, Nov. 20, after Officer Peter Liang, who had his pointed Glock 9-mm in one hand and a flashlight in the other, fired once and killed Gurley, who had entered the stairwell from the eighth floor with his girlfriend.
Both Liang, and his partner on patrol were rookie officers on their one-year probationary period.
Police sources have said the shooting was an accident and Liang was stripped of his badge and gun and placed on modified duty. As a rookie still on probation he can be fired without a departmental hearing.
Meanwhile, the medical examiner’s office on Monday ruled Gurley’s death a homicide, but noted that the classification does not imply any statement about intent or culpability, and any criminal charges are a function of the district attorney and the criminal justice system.
Kings County District Attorney Ken Thompson refused comment about the homicide ruling as the matter is still under investigation.
Public Advocate Letitia James, who along with Congress members Hakeem Jeffries and Nydia Velazquez, was briefed by Thompson on the killing of Gurley over the weekend said what is most important is to focus on reform.
“As the New York City Public Advocate, I will continue to push for quickly implementing NYPD reforms that have been promised under this administration; improving public housing conditions particularly with respect to lighting, security cameras and other basic safety needs; and re-assessing the way public housing is policed through Police Service Areas (PSA’s),” said James.
“As a city, we must not yield to divisiveness. Instead, we must come together for constructive action and reforms that honor the legacy of innocent men and women like Akai Gurley and guarantee our city is both safe and just for all,” she said.
Borough President Eric Adams, a former NYPD cop said tangible steps need to be taken to ensure the city does not suffer another senseless death in the manner that the city lost Akai Gurley.
“That is why I am calling for the NYCHA to step up its efforts to prioritize repairs that impact public safety, such as stairwell lighting, within a 24-hour period of notification. Additionally, I am calling on the NYPD to ensure that rookie police officers are partnered with well-trained, veteran counterparts on their patrols, for at least the first six months of their active duty,” he said.
Meanwhile, Assembly member-elect Charles Barron led about 200 angry protestors to a march on East New York’s 75th Police Precinct demanding the arrest of Liang. The crowd had several spirited chants comparing the NYP to the Klu Klux Klan, and some protestors expressed solidarity with protestors in Ferguson, Missouri where police gunned down an unarmed Michael Brown in August.
The Gurley killing comes just months after police choked to death unarmed Eric Garner, who was allegedly selling loose cigarettes in Staten Island. That too was ruled a homicide and the Staten Island District Attorney are still investigating.
It also comes just weeks after the resignation of the NYPD’s top African-American cop, former First Deputy Commissioner Phillip Banks, who was well liked in the African-American community, and replaced with another African-American Benjamin Tucker.
Before becoming NYPD’s second in command, Tucker was Deputy Commissioner in charge training. Part of that training is the protocol of when cops, who feel endangered, can with their guns out.
