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Demonstrators on Nov. 22, 2014, paused outside the 75th Police Precinct during a march in protest of the shooting death of Akai Gurley by rookie NYPD officer Peter Liang at the Louis Pink Houses public housing complex.

(Associated Press Photo)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Daily News is reporting that as Akai Gurley lay dying in a darkened stairwell at a Brooklyn housing development, the officer who allegedly shot him was texting a union representative instead of talking with a 911 operator and his commanding officer.

However, Albert O'Leary, communications director for the NYC Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, had this response when asked to comment about the allegation:"That doesn't appear to be true."

The News claims that neither Peter Liang, 26, the rookie officer who is accused of firing the fatal shot, or his partner, Shaun Landau, could be reached by 911 or their commanding officer for the first six minutes after the tragedy occurred on Nov. 20. The News said the shooting was reported by a neighbor.

Liang and his partner were doing a vertical patrol of the stairwell with flashlights when the shooting occurred in the housing complex in the East New York section of Brooklyn.

Police said the officers walked down the stairs onto an eighth-floor landing. Gurley and his girlfriend opened a stairwell door one floor down after giving up on waiting for an elevator.

Police said Liang, patrolling with his gun drawn, fired without a word and apparently by accident, hitting Gurley from a distance of about 10 feet.