U.S.
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A rookie New York City police officer was indicted by a grand jury on Tuesday for the shooting of an unarmed black man, according to a lawyer representing the dead man's family and multiple news sources.
Officer Peter Liang will appear in court Wednesday over the November shooting death of 28-year-old Akai Gurley, according to Scott Rynecki, an attorney representing Gurley's family.
Peter Liang, the officer, was patrolling with his partner in a Brooklyn housing project on the night of Nov. 20 when his gun discharged a single bullet, killing Akai Gurley, 28, who was in the stairwell a flight below with his girlfriend.
NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton said shortly after the shooting that the evidence pointed to an "accidental discharge" of Liang's weapon.
The criminal charge or charges Liang will face were not immediately clear. A news advisory from the Brooklyn District Attorney's office said no information will be released until Wednesday afternoon, "as the results of the grand jury's deliberations remain sealed as a matter of law."
Gurley's death in November added fuel to a nationwide series of protests against police killings of unarmed black men. Just days after Gurley was killed, a St. Louis County grand jury decided not to indict Darren Wilson, a white police officer, in the Aug. 9 fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager.
One week after that grand jury decided against indicting Wilson, a Staten Island grand jury returned no indictment for the NYPD officer who killed Eric Garner, another unarmed black man, by placing him in a chokehold.
Protesters took the lack of an indictment in both cases as evidence of racial bias within the criminal justice system. Liang's indictment would be the first example of criminal charges being brought in any of the recent high-profile police killings. An Ohio grand jury empaneled to consider the case of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was shot and killed by a Cleveland police officer in November, has yet to issue a decision regarding whether to indict the officer.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has weathered criticism and public defiance from the NYPD in recent weeks over his handling of the protests, released a statement on Tuesday night responding to the reports of a grand jury decision.
"No matter the specific charges, this case is an unspeakable tragedy for the Gurley family," said de Blasio. "We urge everyone to respect the judicial process as it unfolds.”
Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, a union representing NYPD officers, told the New York Daily News that people should also take into account the dangers that officer Liang faced.
"This officer deserves the same due process afforded to anyone involved in the accidental death of another. The fact that he was assigned to patrol one most dangerous housing projects in New York City must be considered among the circumstances of this tragic accident."
Al Jazeera and wire services
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