The partner of the rookie police officer found guilty of shooting and killing an unarmed man in a darkened public housing stairwell has been fired, the NYPD confirmed to NBC 4 New York.
Officer Shaun Landau was relieved of his duties a day after fellow cop Peter Liang was convicted on manslaughter and official misconduct charges in the 2014 shooting death of Akai Gurley. Liang, the first NYPD cop convicted of an on-duty death since 2005, was fired after the trial concluded Thursday night.
Landau was a probationary officer and was terminated at the discretion of Commissioner Bill Bratton.
Landau was doing patrols in the Pink Houses in East New York on Nov. 20 when Liang entered a darkened stairwell and fired the shot that killed Gurley.
Liang, 28, said he had been holding his weapon safely, with his finger on the side and not the trigger, when a sudden sound jarred him and his body tensed.
Prosecutors said Liang handled his gun recklessly, must have realized from the noise that someone was nearby and did almost nothing to help Gurley.
After the shooting, Liang left the stairwell and fought with Landau about who should call a sergeant. It wasn't until they went to look in the stairwell that they found Gurley and the woman he was with, who was calling 911.
Liang testified about the patrol at Liang's trial.
In a statement earlier on Friday, Gurley's family called for Landau to be fired.
