Jury selection began Wednesday in the manslaughter trial of rookie NYPD Officer Peter Liang, who killed an unarmed father of two when his service weapon went off in a dark st🔥airwel﷽l at Brooklyn’s Pink Houses project in 2014.
Prospective jurors are🏅 being told t🎀he trial could last two to four weeks, with opening statements expected Monday.
“The defendant is a police officer, and the accusation is he recklessly and w🏅ith criminal negligence caused the death of Akai Gurley in King’s County,” Brooklyn Supreme Court Justiဣce Danny Chun told about 150 prospective jurors Wednesday.
Liang had his gun out when he and a partner were on routine patrol in the st𒁏airwell. He became startled and fired a single bullet that ricocheted off the wall, piercing Gurley’s heart as he was descending🌳 the stairs with a friend.
Liang’s lawyers 🐓are arguing the shooting wa🦩s a horrible accident.
Prosecutors counter that Liang recklessly had his finger on the trigger as he pat𒐪rolled the stairwell and showed his culpability by not immediately reporting the shooting and by failing🔯 to give aid to the dying man.