NYPD officer indicted for killing civilian

Rookie NYPD officer Peter Liang, who shot and killed 28-year-old Akai Gurley in his Brooklyn residence on Nov. 20, has been indicted by a grand jury. The charge, according to the New York Daily News, is second-degree manslaughter, which also implies recklessness.

Liang and his partner were on "vertical patrol" the night of the shooting, when Liang says he opened the door with the same hand holding his gun, accidentally discharging the weapon. The bullet struck Gurley, who was standing on the landing below, in the chest. The hallway was also apparently unlit, as the light had burned out.

The Daily News also reported that the officers did not answer their radios for about six minutes after the incident, and notified their unit representatives via text message.

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NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton called Gurley's shooting "an unfortunate accident."

The news comes after two controversial, high-profile grand jury decisions not to indict officers in the deaths of two unarmed men, Eric Garner and Michael Brown.