Cop indicted in death of Akai Gurley

A grand jury has indicted the rookie NYPD officer who shot and killed an unarmed man inside a pitch-black stairwell of a housing project in Brooklyn, the Associated Press reported, citing two sources. 

The office of Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson would not confirm the news of the indictment.

Police Officer Peter Liang will face criminal charges in the Nov. 20, 2014, death of Akai Gurley, 28, at the Pink Houses in East New York. The AP did not report what the specific charges are.

Liang and his partner were conducting what the NYPD calls a "vertical patrol" -- walking the stairways. When Gurley and his girlfriend walked through a doorway, Liang fired once from his unholstered weapon, striking Gurley.

The lights in the stairways were out. Residents said they had complained to management about the broken lightbulbs.

After the shooting, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton described Gurley as "a total innocent" and the shooting an "accident."