Former police officer Peter Liang reacts as the court reads the guilty verdict of the jury. (Photo : REUTERS)
Carlton Screen, the only African-American juror on the trial of former New York police officer Peter Liang, has spoken to New York-based ABC7, Eyewitness News.
"Everybody was very sensitive to the lives, the people," the juror said.
Screen said during the interview that it was painful watching the verdict "wash across Liang like a tidal wave," despite what the former NYPD officer said that no one has to be blamed but himself.
"If you put your finger on the trigger, you're ready to shoot," the juror said. "Now whether you hit someone or the bullet is going to go somewhere."
Screen said that the jury was not convinced by the defense's claim that Liang had reason to draw his gun in the darkened stairwell and that he fired by mistake.
"Because it's hard to pull the trigger," the juror said. "We all tried it."
According to reports, Liang and his cop partner were patrolling the Pink Houses complex in East New York when he accidentally pulled the trigger. The bullet ricocheted off the wall and killed Gurley, who was at that time taking the stairs.
"I have two daughters of my own," Screen said. "And they tell me every day, dad, they love me, they love. She's not going to have that opportunity."
Liang's attorney said he will appeal the verdict, while the NYPD has fired his partner, who testified against Liang, for his role in the incident.
According to defense attorney Robert Brown, Peter Liang was "distraught" after the jury convicted him on Thursday, Feb. 11, of manslaughter and official misconduct in the death of 28-year-old Akai Gurley.
Brown said Liang broke into tears as he testified about the shooting, buried his head in his hands as the verdict came after 17 hours of jury deliberations. Liang had no comment after the verdict.
The report said that PBA president Patrick Lynch also spoke out against the verdict.
"The worst thing you can do for a police officer is put doubt in their heads," Lynch said. "When that happens, they get hurt and the public gets hurt."
Meanwhile, Mayor Bill de Blasio said changes are already in the works.
"We have to be in our public housing to protect people, there is no question about it," Blasio said. "But what we are doing now is making sure the officers have a lot of training, a lot of support."
Screen said that the verdict should not be seen as a political statement, although the deaths of other men in police custody were still an unspoken issue.
"People say they thought about it," he said. "They were home thinking about things. It's on your mind. It's a person's life involved here."
Meanwhile, the NYPD announced on Friday, Feb. 12, that Liang's partner, Shaun Landau, has been fired. He's a probationary officer. His termination was at the discretion of Police Commissioner William Bratton. He received immunity for his testimony in Liang's case and was not criminally charged in Gurley's death.
Landau testified that he was with Liang, patrolling the pitch-dark stairwell at the Louis Pink Houses on Nov. 20, 2014. He also narrated how Liang fired the shot that killed Gurley, who was walking down the stairs because the elevator was broken.
