Above Photo: About 20 people showed up to Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson’s Clinton Hill home before 1 a.m. Wednesday to voice their dismay at Peter Liang’s jail-free sentence in the shooting death of Akai Gurley. (GUYARICANMC VIA YOUTUBE)
Seven people were arrested outside Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson’s home early Wednesday during a protest over his handling of the Peter Liang case, police said.
About 20 people showed up at Thompson’s home in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, around 12:40 a.m. They beat drums and chanted, waking his neighbors and arousing the ire of the DA.
“If the family of Akai Gurley cannot sleep tonight, Ken Thompson will not sleep tonight!” they shouted.
Thompson was at home with his family at the time, a source said.
“These efforts to harass and intimidate my family, frighten my young children and disturb my neighbors at 1 in the morning will not deter me from doing what is right,” Thompson said Wednesday.
PETER LIANG SPARED JAIL TIME IN AKAI GURLEY’S FATAL SHOOTING
“It’s outrageous that these professional protesters would do this on a residential block in the wee hours of the morning,” a law enforcement official said. “There’s a time and place for everything.”
A lawyer representing some of the protesters said they were within their rights.
“(Thompson) has no more right of immunity to protest than anyone else,” Kenneth Perry said.
Protesters chanted: “If the family of Akai Gurley cannot sleep tonight, Ken Thompson will not sleep tonight! Police murder must stop!”
One protester can be heard saying, “F— him!” Another can be heard shouting, “Motherf—–!”
They held a large banner which read “#ByeKen Blood on your hands”
When cops arrived the protesters were blocking traffic. The police told them to stop. They refused, and the seven were arrested.
Jason Woody, 32, of the Bronx, pulled an officer to the ground and injured the officer’s hand, officials said. He was charged with assault.
Six others were charged with obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct.
Moira Meltzer-Cohen, who represented three of the protesters, said, “They were participating in conduct that is not only constitutionally protected but constitutionally valuable. They have already spent more time in custody than Peter Liang will ever spend for the homicide of Akai Gurley.”
Liang, a rookie cop, shot and killed Gurley, 28, in a darkened stairwell at the Pink Houses in East New York on Nov. 20, 2014. Liang’s 9-mm. handgun accidentally discharged, with a bullet ricocheting off a wall and hitting the unarmed Gurley in the chest.
Liang, 28, was found guilty of manslaughter on Feb. 11. Judge Danny Chun reduced his conviction to criminally negligent homicide on Tuesday and sentenced him to five years of probation and 800 hours of community service.
Liang has a year to complete his community service, his lawyer Paul Schechtman said.
“He wants to do something where he wants to work with children, but probation has to approve it,” Schechtman said.
“He wants to find a job while doing the probation. There’s no real time frame to report to probation, but we are hoping to get there sooner or later to get things started and completed early.”