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Akai Gurley death: congressman calls for NYPD reform after 'terrible tragedy'
Source: The Guardian
Akai Gurley death: congressman calls for NYPD reform after 'terrible tragedy'
Oliver Laughland in New York
theguardian.com, Tuesday 25 November 2014 19.04 GMT
The congressman for the New York district where Akai Gurley, an unarmed 28-year-old, was shot dead by a policeman last week, has called for an overhaul of police strategy in the area and branded the shooting a “terrible tragedy”.
Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat who represents New York’s eighth congressional district, told the Guardian: “There must be accountability for the death of an unarmed, innocent young African American man. Something went wrong in that staircase, and it will be the job of the district attorney to get to the bottom of what happened.”
Gurley was killed by a single shot to the torso by rookie police officer Peter Liang in a darkened stairwell in the Pink Houses public housing block in Brooklyn. Police say Liang was conducting a “vertical patrol” of the building in the borough’s East New York neighborhood. Reports suggested Liang’s partner was also a rookie officer.
The Brooklyn district attorney, Ken Thompson, is investigating the shooting, and has referred the matter to his civil rights division. Members of Gurley’s family are understood to have met Thompson on Monday, along with local community members and politicians.
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Oliver Laughland in New York
theguardian.com, Tuesday 25 November 2014 19.04 GMT
The congressman for the New York district where Akai Gurley, an unarmed 28-year-old, was shot dead by a policeman last week, has called for an overhaul of police strategy in the area and branded the shooting a “terrible tragedy”.
Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat who represents New York’s eighth congressional district, told the Guardian: “There must be accountability for the death of an unarmed, innocent young African American man. Something went wrong in that staircase, and it will be the job of the district attorney to get to the bottom of what happened.”
Gurley was killed by a single shot to the torso by rookie police officer Peter Liang in a darkened stairwell in the Pink Houses public housing block in Brooklyn. Police say Liang was conducting a “vertical patrol” of the building in the borough’s East New York neighborhood. Reports suggested Liang’s partner was also a rookie officer.
The Brooklyn district attorney, Ken Thompson, is investigating the shooting, and has referred the matter to his civil rights division. Members of Gurley’s family are understood to have met Thompson on Monday, along with local community members and politicians.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/nov/25/akai-gurley-death-nypd-reform-tragedy