2 Buffalo Police Officers Charged With Assault After Video Showed Them Shoving Elderly Protester To The Ground

TOPLINE

Two Buffalo, New York, police officers have been charged with second-degree assault after videos surfaced showing officers shoving a 75-year-old protester to the pavement during a protest (both officers have pleaded not guilty).

KEY FACTS

CRUCIAL QUOTE

“I think there was criminal liability from what I saw on the video,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday at a briefing. “I think what the mayor did and the district attorney did was right, and I applaud them for acting as quickly as they did.”

KEY BACKGROUND

The Buffalo Police Department have been panned for their response to the incident, which was initially to release a statement that “one person was injured when he tripped [and] fell” in a skirmish between police and protesters. But after local station WBFO broadcast a video of the incident that appeared to contradict the police version of events, two officers were suspended without pay as an investigation was opened. All 57 members of the Buffalo Police Department’s Emergency Response Team resigned from the unit Friday in an apparent show of support. “Our position is these officers were simply following orders from Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia to clear the square,” John Evans, the president of the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association President told the Buffalo News.

TANGENT

The man pushed in the video was identified by local media as Martin Gugino, a longtime peace activist who has marched for causes like nuclear disarmament, climate change and protesting to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center. According to police, Gugino was in serious but stable condition Thursday night. 

FURTHER READING

Prosecutors: 2 Buffalo police officers charged with assault (Associated Press)

Buffalo Police Suspend Two Officers Over Video Showing Elderly Man Pushed To The Ground (Forbes)

57 Buffalo Police Resign From Riot Unit In Protest Of Officers’ Suspension (Forbes)