NYPD Officer Convicted in Zongo Shooting

New York, NY —

New York City Police Officer Brian Conroy has been convicted of criminally negligent homicide in the 2003 shooting death of an unarmed African man. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has more.

REPORTER: Officer Conroy was convicted of shooting Ousmane Zongo, a native of Burkina Faso. Zongo was working out of a storage space of a Chelsea warehouse where police were conducting an unrelated raid. Conroy faces up to four years in jail -- his lawyer says he'll ask for probation.

Meanwhile, Zongo family Attorney Sanford Rubenstein says the verdict gives Zongo's family some solace:

RUBENSTEIN: They can go back and tell the children of Ousmane Zongo he did nothing wrong and he was killed by a police officer and the police officer was held accountable criminally.

REPORTER: But the president of the police union, Pat Lynch, denounced the judge's verdict, saying the benefit of the doubt should always go to the police officers because they are putting themselves in danger. For WNYC I am Bob Hennelly.