National

Prosecutor Filings Detail Fatal Stairwell Shooting by NYPD

Published

11 years ago

June 24, 2015

Men gather outside of the building where a man was allegedly shot by a police officer the night before at the Louis Pink Houses public housing complex, Friday, Nov. 21, 2014, in Brooklyn borough of New York. A rookie police officer with his gun drawn shot to death 28-year-old Akai Gurley, an unarmed, innocent man in the darkened stairwell of the crime-ridden public housing complex. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

MICHAEL BALSAMO, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A rookie police officer was arguing with his partner over who should call their supervisor in the chaotic moments after he’d accidentally fired his gun into a darkened stairwell of a public housing complex, and he did nothing to help when he discovered later that he’d mortally wounded an unarmed man, the prosecution says in court papers.

Officer Peter Liang is charged with manslaughter in the Nov. 20 death of Akai Gurley in the Louis Pink Houses in Brooklyn. He has pleaded not guilty and his lawyer notes the shooting was an accident.

Prosecution motions released Tuesday gave these details:

Liang and his partner, Shaun Landau, were on patrol on the eighth floor of one of the buildings at about 11 p.m. when they walked into the stairwell.

Liang held his flashlight over his head and had his Glock pistol pointed directly in front of him when he started to walk down the stairs. His partner was still in the hallway when he heard a gunshot. At the same time, Gurley and his girlfriend, Melissa Butler, were on the landing of the staircase below. The bullet had bounced off a wall before striking Gurley. The couple managed to get down several flights of stairs before Gurley collapsed.

Liang ran out of the staircase and his partner, using an expletive, asked what happened.

“It went off by accident,” Liang said, then repeatedly exclaimed he would be fired.

The two stood in the hallway and argued for several minutes about who should call their supervisor to report gunshot and what phone should be used.

“You call,” Liang told his partner.

“No, you call,” Landau said.

But no one called. Instead, Landau went into the stairwell, searching the walls for bullet holes, but soon heard a “grunting noise” coming from the floors below. When he reached the fifth floor, he saw Gurley’s body and Butler kneeling over him, tears pouring down her face.

By then, Butler was on the phone with a 911 operator, who was trying to walk her through performing CPR as the officers stood nearby.

“Neither defendant nor Officer Landau provided any medical care to Mr. Gurley. Nor did they summon an ambulance,” prosecutors wrote in the court filing. Instead, the two of them walked around Gurley’s body to the landing on the fourth floor.

It was nearly 20 minutes after the shooting when the officers radioed to report “an accidental fire.”

Liang was later indicted on charges including manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, official misconduct and assault. Prosecutors said he disregarded his training and should not have had his gun drawn nor his finger on the trigger.

Liang pleaded not guilty in February and is currently free without bail.

His attorney Stephen Worth, who had tried to get the court to dismiss the indictment, said Tuesday, “We wish the judge would have taken a more intensive look at the grand jury presentation. We believe it was not a fair presentation for officer Liang.”

The case was closely watched following the Dec. 3 grand jury decision not to indict a white police officer in the chokehold death of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who was arrested on Staten Island. That decision — along with a grand jury’s refusal to charge a white officer in the Ferguson, Missouri, shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old — prompted mass protests decrying the grand jury system as biased. Liang, 27, is Asian; Gurley, 28, was black.

On Tuesday, New York took a step to give such cases special consideration by appointing the attorney general to investigate them, at least for a year. Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson, who presented evidence to the grand jury against Liang, has opposed the idea.

Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Danny Chun ruled that evidence presented to the grand jury was legally sufficient to support manslaughter charges against the officer. Liang is due back in court in September.

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Six Months in, Probate Reform Coalition Marks Progress in Protecting Elders From Financial Abuse

Despite the cited obstacles, NPRC has made some promising inroads towards their mission. NPRC has identified that nationwide the Attorneys General must be engaged and encouraged to implement oversight, protection and enforcement of the law; members find support from each other as they advocate for redress via “letters of compassion” sent to judges, nursing facilities and law enforcement agencies and members are instructed on their rights, how to take constructive action to protect those rights through access to resources that allow them to intelligently represent themselves in court.

Published

7 days ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

NPRC member Stewart E. Handte, a former Mineral County, Nevada, Sheriff and 27-year veteran of police work, currently wears an ankle monitor after he was arrested on kidnapping charges for helping his friend, Roger Hilligus, remove Hilligus’ mother, Susan Hilligus, from a nursing facility after finding her bruised and neglected. NPRC has submitted a “Letter of Compassion” for both Handte and Hilligus requesting that charges be dropped. Courtesy photo.

By Tanya Dennis

The National Probate Reform Coalition, a loose-knit national coalition of advocates, victims, and families dedicated to protecting elder rights, especially within the probate court system, was formed by the Post Newspaper Group (PNG) after more than a decade of reporting on the mistreatment of elders and the plunder of their estates.

In response, PNG Publisher Paul Cobb set in motion a series of monthly town halls to address the problem and propose workable solutions, designating it a “year of action.”

At six months, the coalition has attracted families, advocates, and experts across the nation whose strategies have proven effective in their respective states, and who are moving forward collectively with the mission of engaging judicial, legislative, and enforcement agencies to ensure elders are not exploited or abused.

“The issue of elder abuse is multi-layered”, says NPRC planning committee member Venus Gist. “Elders are our most vulnerable population, next to children, and they are easily exploited by strangers, their own family members, and the judicial system designed to protect them.”

Since January, NPRC has, via monthly virtual meetings held on the first Thursday of each month, clearly defined the issues and formulated workable solutions that can be implemented nationwide.

“There are amazing laws on the books that protect elders and their assets,” said NPRC member Zakiya Jendayi. “The problem is they are ignored, and that lack of oversight has led to systemic abuse in the Probate Court system, not just in Alameda County, but nationwide.

“The scary part is the collusion and wall of silence NPRC has encountered when reaching out to the Judicial Council, legislators, and the State Bar for assistance. It’s so obvious that one hand is washing the other, that they’re protecting each other, that it’s difficult to initiate any type of meaningful reform much less dialogue.”

Stacy Drake, a Texas member, says, “I’ve been looking for help for over 10 years with my situation, and I finally found it within the NPRC coalition. God answered my prayers.”

Broadening its reach within Alameda County, NPRC has invited Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee to assist with outreach, education, and resolution.

“We hope to host an elder abuse/elder protection symposium annually, if not twice a year, to let our elders know that Alameda County and the City of Oakland are a safe place, a place where in their golden years they have no worries regarding exploitation and abuse,” said Cobb. “Society is defined by how the care for its children and elders.”

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UC Berkeley Named Top Public University in the U.S. and No. 7 in the World by ‘U.S. News’

Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014. “A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.

Published

1 week ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Photo by Keegan Houser/UC Berkeley.

The 2026 Best Global Universities rankings evaluated 2,250 research institutions from more than 100 countries

By Lila Thulin

U.S. News & World Report has ranked UC Berkeley No. 7 in its 2026 list of the best global universities, which assesses more than 2,250 research institutions worldwide.

Berkeley also claimed the honor of top public university in the U.S.

Released on Monday, the list evaluates universities from more than 100 countries on 13 metrics such as global and research reputation (as reported by academics and peers) and number of highly cited scholarly papers.

Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014.

“A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.

The rankings also assess a university’s strength in various subject areas; these assessments are separate from U.S. News’ 2026 Best Graduate Programs rankings released in April.

This year, Berkeley was named in the top three nationally in seven subject areas – environment/ecology, ecology, water resources, physics, computer science, chemistry, and engineering – and in the top five for a total of 17 subjects. Subject rankings are based heavily on scholarly publications and citations as well as reputation.

In September, U.S. News also released its 2026 Best Colleges list, in which Berkeley was also named the No. 1 public institution among American universities.

That honor joins other accolades judging campus to be the best public university in the country, such as those from Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education.

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Lock In Car Price: Avoid Dealer Payment Traps!

Watch the long-form video https://youtu.be/YANxGwD2CjI Don’t get swayed by monthly payments! Always settle the out-of-the-door price first, including all fees. Only then discuss monthly payments, terms, and potential add-ons. #AutoNetwork #CarBuyingTips #CarSales #DealershipSecrets #Negotiation
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Published

1 week ago

June 23, 2026

Oakland Post

Watch the long-form video

Don’t get swayed by monthly payments! Always settle the out-of-the-door price first, including all fees. Only then discuss monthly payments, terms, and potential add-ons. #AutoNetwork #CarBuyingTips #CarSales #DealershipSecrets #Negotiation

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