New York City officer Peter Liang and his partner texted their union representative before calling for help over their radios after Liang fatally shot Akai Gurley in a housing project stairwell on Nov. 20, the New York Daily News reports.
In the critical moments after the Nov. 20 shooting, the cops’ commanding officer and an emergency operator — responding to a 911 call from a neighbor and knowing the duo was in the area — tried to reach them in vain, sources said.
“That’s showing negligence,” said a law enforcement source of the pair’s decision to text their union rep before making a radio call for help.
Police commissioner Bill Bratton has said Liang’s gun went off accidentally in the stairwell, which did not have functioning lights. The New York Post has reported that Liang was violating protocol by keeping his finger on the weapon’s trigger.
