Police

Prosecutor Doesn't Want Convicted Cop Inconvenienced For Killing A Black Guy

After finally securing a conviction for a cop who shot an innocent man, the prosecutor is dropping the ball on sentencing.

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Peter LiangWhen New York police officer Peter Liang was convicted of manslaughter in the killing of Akai Gurley, Elie Mystal wrote the headline “We Got One: Killer Cop Peter Liang Actually Found Guilty Of Killing A Black Man.” It did seem like, after a spate of killings that included gunning down a friggin 12-year-old, a trigger-happy police officer might face some consequences for committing deadly misconduct.

But alas, that was never really in the cards. Yesterday, the Times published a letter from Kings County DA Ken Thompson advising the court that the prosecutor was not seeking any jail time in the case.

Thompson’s letter starts off reminding us exactly how we got here:

The defendant’s criminal acts on November 20, 2014 had tragic and irreparable consequences. Akai Gurley was a completely innocent man who lost his life for no reason. The defendant also failed in his duty to aid Akai Gurley once he realized that Mr. Gurley was gravely wounded. At the sentencing proceeding on April 14, 2016, Mr. Gurley’s family and friends will describe to the Court the devastating effect that the loss of this young man has had on their lives and, especially, on the life of Mr. Gurley’s three-year-old daughter, Akaila, who will now have to grow up without the love, guidance, and support of her father.

By “failed in his duty to aid Akai Gurley,” Thompson means “texted with his union rep over whether or not ‘killing an innocent guy’ was going to get him in hot water.” It’s a small distinction, but probably an important one. That right there is malice afterthought.

But this doesn’t trip Thompson’s punitive switch. One of Thompson’s most laudable acts as DA was ending prosecutions for low-level marijuana possession cases — sensibly steering his office away from the mindless drive to ring up jail time. Not that the NYPD cared about this new policy, but it’s the thought that counts. Apparently, Thompson thinks the death of Akai Gurley should be treated with the same kid gloves:

At the same time, the People recognize that there are mitigating circumstances in this case. The defendant chose to become a police officer, and to put his own life on the line, because he wanted to protect the public. That night the defendant was in the darkened stairwell of the building at 2724 Linden Boulevard with his service weapon, as part of his job to keep the people of Brooklyn and our city safe. At the time of the shooting, he was a rookie police officer, who had graduated from the Police Academy less than a year before. There is no evidence that the defendant intended to kill or even injure Mr. Gurley.

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Right… that’s why he was convicted of “manslaughter” and not “murder.” The state of New York has actually brainstormed a whole set of recommendations for punishing people who kill without intent and wrote them down. Few are served by throwing Peter Liang in jail for 15 years, obviously. Nor can Liang become the avatar for the decision of the shameful Dan Donovan — now serving in Congress! — to turn the other way when the whole country watched Eric Garner get choked to death on video for the crime of selling cigarettes. This was the message of the scores of Asian-American protesters rallying to Liang’s defense and who, one suspects, played no small role in convincing Thompson to back off. Yet, five years of probation hardly sends the message that New York takes killing innocent people seriously at all.

That Peter Liang served as a police officer is seen as a mitigating circumstance — and there’s something to that — but shouldn’t it also be an aggravating factor? Shouldn’t police be held to a higher standard when it comes to handling firearms? As the people given an official sanction by the state to shoot “the bad guys,” the police should be under more scrutiny, not less when they breach that trust and recklessly kill an innocent. It strikes me that rebuilding the public trust after the NYPD walked in the Garner case and Liang played CYA on his phone while a guy bled out requires someone eventually declaring that the city holds its peace officers accountable. Many, if not most, cops are good people trying to do a good job, but when the city lets misconduct go unpunished it tarnishes the whole department’s reputation.

Thompson concludes by noting that his recommended sentence is “similar to the sentence that was imposed in the most recent case in which a New York police officer was found criminally liable for the fatal shooting of an unarmed civilian.” Well, of course it is. And why not adhere blindly to that precedent?

It’s not like there’s any widespread erosion of public confidence in the police or anything.

(The full letter is available on the next page.)

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Earlier: We Got One: Killer Cop Peter Liang Actually Found Guilty Of Killing A Black Man

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