Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson has recommended no jail time for former NYPD Officer Peter Liang, who was convicted of fatally shooting an unarmed East New York man in 2014.
Instead, the district attorney has recommended that Liang be put on probation for five years, as well as serve six months house arrest and conduct 500 hours of community service.
Liang was convicted of shooting and killing Akai Gurley inside a dark stairwell inside the Pink Houses in East New York.
Liang's lawyers have maintained the discharge of his gun was an accident.
However, prosecutors says Liang acted recklessly. Liang and his former partner waited too long to call a supervisor and alert them of what had happened, according to prosecutors. They added that neither man attempted to revive Gurley, even though both were trained in CPR.
Liang was fired from the NYPD shortly after his conviction in February.
"Mr. Liang has no prior criminal history and poses no future threat to public safety. Because his incarceration is not necessary to protect the public and due to the unique circumstances of this case, a prison sentence is not warranted," District Attorney Thompson says.
Meanwhile, Gurley's family has decried the district attorney's recommendation.
"This is a slap in the face to Akai Gurley," says Gurley's mother. "We are calling on Judge Danny Chun to do the right thing. And the right thing is to appropriately sentence Peter Liang to prison."
Liang is scheduled to be sentenced in April.
The district attorney's office would not further comment on the case. Liang's attorney tells News 12 that he is innocent, but says that Thompson deserves praise for his no-jail recommendation.