Washington, DC - Yesterday, Peter Liang, who was found guilty of manslaughter and official misconduct by a grand jury in February, was sentenced to five years of probation and 800 hours of community service. This was a reduction from the original conviction of a 15-year prison sentence for the second-degree manslaughter of Akai Gurley. The second-degree manslaughter was reduced to a criminally negligent homicide following the appeals process, and with this new sentence sends a message that killing innocent lives are justified when the crime is done by a police officer.
"We must continue calling for an end to police brutality and uplift the voices and narratives of those directly impacted by this unending cycle of systemic oppression. We know all too well that people of color, and disproportionately Black lives, are lost at the hands of the state every day and families are left to navigate a system that was never designed for them in the first place," said APALA National President Johanna Puno Hester.
Akai Gurley died at 28 years old after Peter Liang shot him in a dimly lit Brooklyn stairwell. Immediately following the shooting, Liang failed to call for medical help, killing Gurley in the process. Gurley leaves behind his daughters without a father, a mother without her son, and siblings without their brother.
"APALA believes Akai Gurley's life mattered and that Liang should have served jail time like any average civilian who is convicted of the same crime," said Gregory Cendana, APALA's Executive Director. "We want to reiterate our support for Akai's family, especially in this difficult time, and recommit ourselves to demanding justice for Akai Gurley and the many other lives lost to state violence. APALA stands firmly in our belief that #BlackLivesMatter and will continue to fight the mass criminalization of all people of color."
Read the Official Joint Statement from Asian/Chinese American Organizations on the Sentencing of Former NYPD Officer Peter Liang in the Killing of Akai Gurley here: bit.ly/1VABWTq.
"We must continue calling for an end to police brutality and uplift the voices and narratives of those directly impacted by this unending cycle of systemic oppression. We know all too well that people of color, and disproportionately Black lives, are lost at the hands of the state every day and families are left to navigate a system that was never designed for them in the first place," said APALA National President Johanna Puno Hester.
Akai Gurley died at 28 years old after Peter Liang shot him in a dimly lit Brooklyn stairwell. Immediately following the shooting, Liang failed to call for medical help, killing Gurley in the process. Gurley leaves behind his daughters without a father, a mother without her son, and siblings without their brother.
"APALA believes Akai Gurley's life mattered and that Liang should have served jail time like any average civilian who is convicted of the same crime," said Gregory Cendana, APALA's Executive Director. "We want to reiterate our support for Akai's family, especially in this difficult time, and recommit ourselves to demanding justice for Akai Gurley and the many other lives lost to state violence. APALA stands firmly in our belief that #BlackLivesMatter and will continue to fight the mass criminalization of all people of color."
Read the Official Joint Statement from Asian/Chinese American Organizations on the Sentencing of Former NYPD Officer Peter Liang in the Killing of Akai Gurley here: bit.ly/1VABWTq.
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