Unarmed Black Man Gunned Down Bye NYPD Officer- NYPD say man was innocent ''an unfortunate accident''

Unarmed Black Man Gunned Down By NYPD Officer While Trying To Walk Up Stairs

Yet another innocent black life has been taken at the hands of an NYPD police officer after an unarmed black man was gunned down while trying to walk up the stairs with his girlfriend.

via NY Times

A rookie New York City police officer shot and killed an unarmed 28-year-old man in a darkened stairwell in Brooklyn late Thursday night, according to the police.

Police Commissioner William J. Bratton said that the victim, Akai Gurley, was “a total innocent” and called the shooting “an unfortunate accident.”  He was not engaged in any activity other than trying to walk down the stairs, Mr. Bratton said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio was also quick to offer his condolences to Mr. Gurley’s family. “This is a tragedy,” he said.

The officer who shot Mr. Gurley, Peter Liang, has been on the force for less than 18 months and was still on probationary status.

Officer Liang, 27, and his partner, who was also new to the force, were patrolling the Louis H. Pink Houses in East New York on Thursday night, part of an effort to increase the police presence at the housing complex.

The two officers had taken the elevator to check out the roof and, shortly before midnight, they entered the eighth-floor stairwell to walk back down. The lights were not working, making it nearly impossible to see, so both officers took out their flashlights.