When a Chinese-American police officer kills an innocent, unarmed black man in an unlit stairwell of a New York City housing project on November 20, 2014, communities across the city erupt with demands for legal accountability.
On November 20, 2014, Akai Gurley was shot and killed in a stairwell by a New York City police officer. With the community still in outrage over the death of Eric Garner, they have yet another loss to endure of an innocent black life taken at the hands of law enforcement. Officer Peter Liang claims while policing a dark stairwell inside Pink Houses housing projects, he became startled and his gun accidentally went off. As Akai lies on the ground bleeding in his girlfriend’s arms, the officer never tried to help nor wanted to initiate the call for an ambulance. When the story broke that Liang would face heavy jail time for murder, the Asian community came out in droves to support him raising over $350,000 for his defense as many rallied in the streets petitioning a lesser sentence.
As blacks protested on one side and Asians on the other, it was clear the tragedy had become about race between the two communities. As Liang gets a slap on the wrist only facing 5 years probation and 800 hours of community service, this case ends just like the many others, where no justice was served. We will never know what truly occurred that night in the stairwell as there were no working lights or surveillance cameras, but what we do know for sure is Akai leaves behind a daughter who will grow up in a world where her life is not valued and it truly makes you think about how far we have not come as a country.
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Now playing at the 2020 New York Human Rights Watch Film Festival
