Settling the Akai Gurley Case

A kai Gurley lost his life in a tragic 2014 accident, and now the city has agreed to pay his family more than $4 million to settle their wrongful-death lawsuit.

The deal marks a major step toward the end of a sad episode in police-community relations.

Gurley, recall, died after being accidentally shot by rookie Officer Peter Liang the same year Eric Garner, in Staten Island, and Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Mo. — among others — also died at the hands of police.

His death fueled the anti-cop protests that year. It shouldn’t have — not because the shooting was warranted, it surely wasn’t; but because it was an accident.

“I couldn’t help but feel [Liang] was entering [the building] with the serious mind of protecting the people,” said the judge in the criminal case against Liang. “Shooting somebody never entered his mind.’’

Still, mistakes were made — by the NYPD, the Housing Authority and the officers.

As we said last spring, “Liang’s superiors inexplicably put two rookies on a publichousing ‘vertical patrol,’ one of the trickier tasks in policing.” And sent them out insufficiently trained.

Gurley was walking down the stairs, where a light was broken, when the cops approached. Liang said he accidentally fired his 9mm Glock. The bullet ricocheted off a wall, striking Gurley in the heart.

Neither Liang nor his partner, Shaun Landau, attempted to render assistance to the mortally wounded young man. Gurley died tragically. It’s right that those responsible are made to pay through a settlement like this. Liang, notably, was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and lost his job.

Beyond that, police brass have an obligation to ensure that such mistakes are never repeated. Let’s hope they do their job.