Jury to decide fate of NY officer in stairwell shooting case

NEW YORK (AP) — Jurors will return to court as they consider whether a rookie police officer who shot an innocent man in a dark public housing stairwell accidentally discharged his weapon, as he says, or whether he acted out of recklessness and did little to help the dying victim, as the prosecution contends.

New York Police Department Officer Peter Liang faces up to 15 years in prison if he's convicted on manslaughter and other charges in the death of 28-year-old Akai Gurley, who was taking the stairs down with his girlfriend rather than wait for an elevator at the Brooklyn complex.

District Attorney Kenneth Thompson sat beside Gurley's domestic partner, Kimberly Ballenger, as the jury heard closing arguments Tuesday afternoon.

Jurors are considering five criminal charges against Liang, which also include criminally negligent homicide, assault, reckless endangerment and official misconduct counts.

The shooting came in a year of protests and nationwide debate about police use of force, especially after grand juries declined to indict white police officers in the deaths of Eric Garner in New York and Michael Brown in Missouri.