Thousands rally in NYC, around US over officer’s conviction

Thousands of people rallied across the United States on Saturday in support of Peter Liang.

Thousands of protesters have rallied in NY and around the country in support of a former police officer who was convicted of manslaughter for a shooting in a housing project stairwell.

They rallied for justice near Easton for the rookie officer, Peter Liang. Police tell us the crowd size is estimated at a minimum of 5,000 people – much more than they had expected. Outrage over police shootings or excessive force has spurred protest movements in major cities such as Chicago, Baltimore and NY.

About 200 people gathered in Columbus Saturday to take part in a national demonstration for an ex-NYPD officer.

He fired a single bullet that glanced off a wall and into the chest of Gurley, who was walking one floor below.

Soraya Soi Free participated in the counter-protest.

Four months before Gurley, 28, was shot, Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo killed Staten Island father of six Eric Garner with a chokehold banned by the NYPD – but a Staten Island grand jury decided not to indict him.

Liang was convicted on February 11 of manslaughter.

Butler’s lawyer, Roger Wareham, said she still “suffers a lot from the loss of someone close to her … from just the lack of care or consideration that Liang and his partner showed for Akai”.

“There are no winners”, Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson said after the verdict.

The shooting happened during a year of nationwide debate over police killings of black men. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City, who was an outspoken participant in the Ferguson protests following the 2014 fatal shooting of black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer.

In San Francisco, protester Amy Matecki said, “Peter Liang’s incident brought the Chinese community together”.