Thousands rally in New York, other US cities over officer's conviction

CADMAN PLAZA, Brooklyn -- Thousands of protesters have rallied in New York and around the country in support of a former police officer who was convicted of manslaughter for a shooting in a housing project stairwell.

A crowd of 10,000 rallied in Brooklyn at Cadman Plaza on Saturday to protest former officer Peter Liang's conviction in the 2014 shooting of Akai Gurley.

The 28-year-old Liang could be sentenced to 5 to 15 years for shooting Gurley, who was unarmed.

Liang testified that the shooting was an accident. Many of his supporters say they believe Liang is being scapegoated because of anger over other police shootings. Some say he has been treated unfairly because he is Asian-American.

Organizers said rallies took place in more than 30 cities in the U.S. Saturday including Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Francisco.