Sunday, December 28, 2014

Hundreds of protesters march in Brooklyn demanding justice for Akai Gurley

Hundreds of protesters march in Brooklyn demanding justice for Akai Gurley

More than 200 protesters marched to NYPD stationhouses in Brooklyn demanding justice for Akai Gurley. The 28-year-old was fatally shot by rookie cop Peter Liang who discharged his gun 'by accident' while patrolling inside the Pink Houses.

 
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
 
Published: Saturday, December 27, 2014, 9:25 PM
Updated: Saturday, December 27, 2014, 9:30 PM
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Two-year-old Akaila Gurley, the daughter of Akai Gurley, is lifted up by an activist so she can be seen by the crowd of protestors in Brooklyn on Saturday.
Two-year-old Akaila Gurley, the daughter of Akai Gurley, is lifted up by an activist so she can be seen by the crowd of protestors in Brooklyn on Saturday.
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  • Akaila Gurley, daughter of Akai Gurley, is raised up by an activist for the crowd of protestors to see. Activists questioned the lack of support shown for the vicitims of police shootings in light of the wave of support shown nationally for the two NYPD police officers who where killed by an estranged assailant one week prior, East New York, Brooklyn, NY, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2014. (Melissa Bunni Elian for the New York Daily News)
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  • Activists perform a die-in outside of Police Service Area #2, East New York, Brooklyn, NY, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2014. (Melissa Bunni Elian for the New York Daily News)
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  • Protesters, demanding justice for Akai Gurley, march towards New York Police Department's (NYPD) 75th Precinct from the site of his shooting death in Brooklyn, New York December 27, 2014. About 200 people gathered on Saturday at the Pink Houses in East New York, Brooklyn, for a march to protest the death of Akai Gurley, who was shot and killed inside the housing project by an NYPD officer in November, local media reported. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith (UNITED STATES - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW POLITICS)
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  • Protesters, demanding justice for Akai Gurley, shout slogans at the site of his shooting death in Brooklyn, New York December 27, 2014. About 200 people gathered Saturday at the Pink Houses in Brooklyn for a march to protest the death of Akai Gurley, who was shot and killed inside the housing project by an NYPD officer in November, local media reported. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith (UNITED STATES - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW POLITICS)
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MELISSA BUNNI ELIAN FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
More than 200 demonstrators led by Akai Gurley’s domestic partner marched to NYPD stationhouses in Brooklyn Saturday, demanding justice for the 28-year-old shot dead by a rookie cop.
The protesters massed outside the Police Service Area No. 2 building in East New York, where Gurley’s partner, Kimberly Ballinger, held up a sign bearing his name.
“Is that Daddy?” asked her 2-year-old daughter, Akaila, pointing toward the sign.
A woman holds a placard with Akai Gurley's name at the site of his death in Brooklyn.
A woman holds a placard with Akai Gurley's name at the site of his death in Brooklyn.
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  • A woman, demanding justice for Akai Gurley, holds a placard at the site of his shooting death in Brooklyn, New York December 27, 2014. About 200 people gathered on Saturday at the Pink Houses in Brooklyn for a march to protest the death of Akai Gurley, who was shot and killed inside the housing project by an NYPD officer in November, local media reported. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith (UNITED STATES - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW POLITICS)
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  • A woman, demanding justice for Akai Gurley, stands near a placard at the site of his shooting death in Brooklyn, New York December 27, 2014. About 200 people gathered on Saturday at the Pink Houses in Brooklyn for a march to protest the death of Akai Gurley, who was shot and killed inside the housing project by an NYPD officer in November, local media reported. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith (UNITED STATES - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW POLITICS)
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  • Protesters, demanding justice for Akai Gurley, turn their backs towards the New York Police Department's (NYPD) 75th Precinct after marching from the site of his shooting death in Brooklyn, New York December 27, 2014. About 200 people gathered on Saturday at the Pink Houses in East New York, Brooklyn, for a march to protest the death of Akai Gurley, who was shot and killed inside the housing project by an NYPD officer in November, local media reported. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith (UNITED STATES - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW POLITICS)
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STEPHANIE KEITH/REUTERS
“They’re all Daddy,” Ballinger replied.
Gurley’s aunt told the crowd Officer Peter Liang, the cop who fatally shot Gurley, belongs behind bars.
Front page of the New York Daily News for Nov. 22, 2014.NEW YORK DAILY NEWSFront page of the New York Daily News for Nov. 22, 2014.
“Peter Liang is guilty of criminal negligence,” Hertencia Peterson said. “Why isn’t he in jail?”
Gurley was unarmed when he was killed Nov. 20 inside the Pink Houses in an incident that Police Commissioner Bill Bratton labeled “an unfortunate accident.”
Liang — holding his flashlight in one hand and a 9-mm. pistol in the other — was patrolling a stairwell when he went for the door on the eighth-floor landing.
His gun fired — apparently by accident. The bullet ricocheted off a wall and struck Gurley, who had just stepped into the stairwell one floor below.
Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson is investigating the shooting.
The protesters, after taking off from the Pink Houses, chanted “Akai Gurley ain’t no accident” and “No justice, no peace, no racist police.”
Before reaching the police service area, they stopped at the 75th Precinct stationhouse and turned their backs on the officers gathered outside.
“We live in (public) housing and we’re just tired of our sons and brothers getting shot for no reason,” said Bernadine Bishop, 70.
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