US cop texted union instead of calling for help after shooting unarmed black man

The stepfather and mother (C) of Akai Gurley attend his wake at Brown Memorial Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York Dec. 5, 2014. | Photo: Reuters

Police Officer Peter Liang has been accused of “negligence” by an anonymous law enforcement source after fatally shooting Akai Gurley.

Police Officer Peter Liang contacted his union representative before calling for help for a man he claimed to have accidentally shot, according to reports Friday.

According to an anonymous law enforcement source who spoke to the tabloid New York Daily News, Liang's actions suggested “negligence.”

Akai Gurley, 26, was shot dead in Brooklyn in November by Liang, who has claimed his gun accidentally discharged.

The incident occurred in the darkened stairwell of a public housing block. Prosecutors say they will take the case to a grand jury to determine whether criminal charges should be pressed.

The incident came amid a wave of public outcry over a series of high profile police killings of unarmed Black men and boys.

The source stated Liang and his partner were out of contact for more than six and a half minutes after Liang fired the single, fatal shot.

“The guy is dying and you still haven’t called it in?” the source was quoted as stating.

During that time, Liang was accused by the source of texting his union representative, while a 911 emergency operator and Liang's boss were trying to get hold of the two police officers.

The report also claims there is evidence to suggest the officers didn't know where they were, and weren't even supposed to be carrying out patrols in housing project stairwells.

“I told them not to do verticals,” Liang's boss said when the news of the death came in, according to the a different source.

“Verticals” refers to stairwell patrols.

If the allegations prove to be accurate, they could be interpreted by a grand jury as “criminally negligent or an act of depravity,” stated the lawyer for Gurley's parents, Kenneth Montgomery.

“If in fact true, (they are) egregious on several fronts,” he said.

A wake for Gurley was held on Friday, and his funeral is planned for Saturday.

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