Jury begins deliberating in cop's stairwell shooting trial

NEW YORK (AP) — Jurors began deliberating today on 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.

Liang, 28, testified this week that he didn't know anyone was in the pitch-black stairway on Nov. 20, 2014, when he unintentionally fired his drawn gun while on patrol after being startled by a noise. The shot ricocheted off a wall and hit Gurley, who was unarmed.

District Attorney Kenneth Thompson sat in the front row next to Gurley's domestic partner, Kimberly Ballenger, as Assistant District Attorney Joe Alexis held up Liang's gun while delivering his closing argument to the jury Tuesday.

"This finger along the side of the gun ... will not slip off and find its way to the trigger," he said. "This was no accident."

Liang's attorney, Robert Brown, cautioned jurors not to let emotions play any role in their deliberations.