A 75-year-old protester was pushed by two police officers in Buffalo, New York, on June 4. After the two police officers were suspended, 57 police officers resigned from the emergency response team of the police force.
Caught on video
The whole incident was recorded by bystanders and it quickly went viral. According to PBS News Hour, Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the incident unjustified and disgraceful, and an investigation is underway. The 75-year-old victim was seriously injured.
In the video, it showed a row of police officers walking toward the man while the people are demonstrating in Niagara Square. Two police officers pushed him and the man hits his head into the concrete. The blood from his head was visible in the video, and some police officers walked past him while the others looked down at him.
The protest in Niagara Square was calling for the end of police brutality and racial justice after the killing of so many black men and women in the country. As soon as the video surfaced online, the two police officers who pushed the old man were suspended.
The following day, 57 officers resigned from the emergency unit but not from the police force. According to the mayor of Buffalo, New York, the 57 members that resigned from the emergency unit make up the while active emergency response team.
According to John Evans, the president of the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association, the 57 police officers resigned because they were disgusted with how the two suspended police officers were treated, and as they stated that the two were just executing orders, as reported by Forbes.
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The news site WKBW also reported that the victim's name is Martin Gugino, who is hospitalized and in a serious but stable condition.
Gugino's attorney described him as a peaceful protester and human rights advocate. His family is asking for privacy until he recovers. According to Gugino's niece, he went to the protest to talk to the police officers about the First Amendment.
Protests in the city
Mayor Byron Brown, the mayor of Buffalo, New York, said that the two officers should receive due process. He does not want the two officers to get fired, but they will be suspended without pay.
As for Gugino, Mayor Brown said that the police asked him to leave numerous times before force was used. The mayor said that the police felt that they needed to clear the area before violent fights break out among the protesters.
Mayor Brown also said that the instructions from the police managers were to protect residents, be careful with the civilians, and to use common sense. However, the hundreds of people who were present at Niagara Square stated that they were peacefully protesting before the police came with their shields and batons.
The police issued a statement saying that Gugino tripped and fell, but after videos of the incident became available, the police changed the statement, and Byron Lockwood, the Buffalo Police Commissioner, suspended the officers without pay and an investigation over the matter is ongoing.
The New York State Police have sent additional police officers to the city after the resignation of the 57 police officers on June 5.
