Only after they each pulled the trigger on ex-cop Peter Liang’s service weapon did 12 Brooklyn jurors agree that he was not telling the truth about how it went off and convict him of manslaughter, one of the panelists revealed Friday.
“Ultimately, it was very important,” Juror No. 10, Carlton Screen, told The Post, recalling how testing the unloaded gun led them to conclude that the rookie had lied about not having his finger on trigger when it fired and killed unarmed Akai Gurley, 28, in an East New York stairwell.
Liang had testified that he had his gun drawn and his finger off the trigger while patrolling a dark stairwell at the Louis Pink Houses on Nov. 20, 2014.
The weapon, he had claimed, “just went off.”
But in holding the 9mm Glock and pulling its trigger themselves Thursday afternoon, jurors reached a consensus: There was no way it could have gone off by being jostled.
“We knew his testimony wasn’t completely true,” Screen said. “I don’t think we hit it like that, that he was an intentional liar. But we all agreed he wasn’t being truthful.”
Experts had testified that it took 11 pounds of trigger pressure to fire the gun.
“It was very hard to pull the trigger,” said Screen, 69, a retired candy-store owner from Flatbush.
“They had another safety that’s on the trigger itself, so you have to pull it hard enough to release that safety in order for it to fire.”
For most of the jurors, it was the first time they had ever held a gun, Screen said. Some refused when first offered the chance to try it during testimony.
Deliberations began in earnest Wednesday. They voted on the reckless-manslaughter count Thursday afternoon, Screen said.
“It was 10 to two for conviction, but the two were a little bit doubtful,” he said.
So all 12 then went out and tried the gun. The verdict came soon after.
“It all revolves around that shot,” Screen said.
Deliberations were “professional,” and jurors never delved into other police shootings, said Screen, the panel’s only black member.
Liang, 28, was fired from the NYPD upon Thursday night’s conviction. He will face up to 15 years behind bars when he is sentenced April 14.
Additional reporting by Emily Saul, Megan McGibney