--- description: A grand jury will decide whether to indict the officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man in a housing project last month. title: Grand Jury To Decide Whether To Indict Cop In Brooklyn Shooting image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6da5f654af3ab7e/69876d162dce018f359dc403/f80115d1e893459da0bfa64ff76086c3-0.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Grand Jury Will Weigh Whether to Indict New York Cop in Fatal Shooting  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Dec 5, 2014 9:05 PM CUT  A demonstrator looks on a memorial to Akai Gurley who was shot to death by rookie NYPD officer Peter Liang at the Louis Pink Houses public housing complex, Nov. 22, 2014, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. A demonstrator looks on a memorial to Akai Gurley who was shot to death by rookie NYPD officer Peter Liang at the Louis Pink Houses public housing complex, Nov. 22, 2014, in the Brooklyn borough of New York.John Minchillo—AP  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Dec 5, 2014 9:05 PM CUT A grand jury [will decide](http://online.wsj.com/articles/brooklyn-district-attorney-to-impanel-grand-jury-in-akai-gurley-case-1417801925 "undefined") whether to indict the New York City police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man in the stairwell of a Brooklyn housing project last month, the local prosecutor said Friday. The news, reported by the [_Wall Street Journal_](http://online.wsj.com/articles/brooklyn-district-attorney-to-impanel-grand-jury-in-akai-gurley-case-1417801925 "undefined"), follows on the heels of protests over grand jury decisions not to indict police officers in the deaths of unarmed black men in New York City and Ferguson, Mo. ### Witness Protesters Taking Over the Streets After the Eric Garner Grand Jury Decision  A group of protesters rally against a grand jury's decision not to indict the police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner occupy the eastbound traffic lanes of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City in the early morning hours of Dec. 4, 2014. Jason DeCrow—AP  Protestors block 15th Street near Pennsylvania Avenue to protest the Staten Island grand jury's decision not to indict officer Daniel Pantaleo in the Eric Garner chokehold case in Washington on Dec. 3, 2014. Jim Lo Scalzo—EPA  Demonstrators march through the streets of New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Andrew Burton—Getty Images  Regina Bates speaks during a demonstration in Oakland, Calif. on Dec. 3, 2014. Elijah Nouvelage—Getty Images  Police stand guard on the West Side highway as protesters block traffic in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Shannon Stapleton—Reuters  Anwar Thurston, 36, joined demonstrators who gathered to protest the Eric Garner grand jury decision during a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at City Hall in Philadelphia on Dec. 3, 2014. Mark Makela—Getty Images  A demonstrator cries while gathering to protest the Eric Garner grand jury decision during a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at City Hall in Philadelphia on Dec. 3, 2014. Mark Makela—Getty Images  Demonstrators block traffic on Highway I-395 in Washington on Dec. 3, 2014. T.J. Kirkpatrick—Getty Images  Protestors lay down in Grand Central Station during a protest in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Timothy A. Clary—AFP/Getty Images  People take part in a protest against the grand jury decision on the death of Eric Garner in midtown Manhattan in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Eric Thayer—Reuters  Protesters raise their arms and chant at police officers in Times Square in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Caitlin Ochs—Polaris  Demonstrators march in protest on the streets of St. Louis on Dec. 3, 2014. Michael B. Thomas—AFP/Getty Images  Police officers block protesters from marching up a highway entrance ramp near Times Square in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Seth Wenig—AP  A man holding a child walks with protesters as they march past Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Adrees Latif—Reuters  Atlanta Police face off with protesters blocking Spring Street in Atlanta on Dec. 3, 2014. Erik S. Lesser—EPA  A demonstrator stands next to a makeshift memorial where Eric Garner died during an arrest in July in the Staten Island borough of New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Shannon Stapleton—Reuters Akai Gurley, 28, was shot dead on Nov. 20 by rookie officer Peter Liang, who officials say discharged his weapon accidentally. Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson’s decision comes after conducting an investigation with the New York Police Department. The New York [_Daily News_](http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/exclusive-texted-union-rep-akai-gurley-lay-dying-article-1.2034219?cid=bitly "undefined"), citing unnamed sources, reports that Liang texted his union representative rather than calling for help as Gurley lay dying. “I’m going to do it because it’s important to get to the bottom of what happened to Mr. Gurley, who was an innocent unarmed man who lost his life,” Thompson told the _Journal_ of his decision to convene a grand jury. “So on behalf of the people of Brooklyn, we need to figure out and determine what exactly happened in that stairwell.” \[[_WSJ_](http://online.wsj.com/articles/brooklyn-district-attorney-to-impanel-grand-jury-in-akai-gurley-case-1417801925 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3620886/grand-jury-brooklyn-shooting-akai-gurley/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3620886/grand-jury-brooklyn-shooting-akai-gurley/"},"headline":"Grand Jury Will Weigh Whether to Indict New York Cop in Fatal Shooting","datePublished":"2014-12-05T21:05:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:47.808Z","description":"Akai Gurley was unarmed when he was shot dead by a NYPD officer","url":"https://time.com/3620886/grand-jury-brooklyn-shooting-akai-gurley/","keywords":["Crime","NYPD","Brooklyn","Eric Garner","Ferguson topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6da5f654af3ab7e/69876d162dce018f359dc403/f80115d1e893459da0bfa64ff76086c3-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6da5f654af3ab7e/69876d162dce018f359dc403/f80115d1e893459da0bfa64ff76086c3-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Public Housing Police Shooting","caption":"Public Housing Police Shooting","creditText":"John Minchillo—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3620886/grand-jury-brooklyn-shooting-akai-gurley/","name":"Grand Jury Will Weigh Whether to Indict New York Cop in Fatal Shooting"}}]}] ```