Attorney General James Announces Guilty Plea of Former NYPD Officer for Manslaughter and Attempted Murder

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the guilty plea of former New York City Police Department (NYPD) Officer Yvonne Wu, 34, of Staten Island for the October 2021 killing of Jamie Liang and attempted murder of Jenny Li. Wu pleaded guilty before Acting Kings County Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun to one count of Manslaughter in the First Degree and one count of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree. 

On October 13, 2021, while off-duty, Wu went to the Brooklyn home of Ms. Li, whom she knew, and used her NYPD-issued service weapon to shoot and kill Ms. Liang and shoot and wound Ms. Li.

Wu will continue to be held without bail until she appears in court on August 28, 2024 for sentencing. As part of the plea, the parties have recommended a prison sentence of 22 years on the Manslaughter charge and five years on the Attempted Murder charge, to run consecutively, for a total of 27 years in prison, as well as five years of post-release supervision, a waiver of Wu’s right to appeal, and an order of protection for Ms. Li.

Pursuant to New York State Executive Law Section 70-b, OSI assesses every incident reported to it where a police officer or a peace officer, including a corrections officer, may have caused the death of a person by an act or omission. Under the law, the officer may be on-duty or off-duty, and the decedent may be armed or unarmed. Also, the decedent may or may not be in custody or incarcerated. If OSI’s assessment indicates an officer may have caused the death, OSI proceeds to conduct a full investigation of the incident.