Fifty seven officers have resigned from their positions on a Buffalo police squad in support of two colleagues who were suspended after they were filmed shoving a 75-year-old peace activist to the ground, causing him to crack open his head.
The two officers were suspended without pay and are now under criminal investigation after footage showed them knocking Martin Gugino to the ground and leaving him with critical injuries in front of Buffalo’s City Hall in upstate New York on Thursday night prior to the city’s 8pm curfew.
The Buffalo Police Benevolent Association told the Investigative Post that all members of the department’s Emergency Response Team have since resigned.
‘Fifty-seven resigned in disgust because of the treatment of two of their members, who were simply executing orders,’ PBA president John Evans said.
The 57 officers have not resigned from the Buffalo Police Department – only the Emergency Response Team they were serving on.
An elderly man was seen approaching Buffalo police officers in riot gear outside of City Hall on Thursday
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown on Friday said he would not call for the cops’ termination ahead of the investigation, saying it was important they get ‘due process’
It comes after Erie County District Attorney’s Office revealed it was investigating the officers for potential criminal liability.
‘The Erie County District Attorney’s Office continues to investigate the incident captured on video outside City Hall Thursday evening that resulted in the injury of (a) protester,’ a spokeswoman for the office said in a statement on Friday.
Gugino, a longtime peace activist from Amherst, is in a serious but stable condition at Erie County Medical Center following the altercation with the officers, which left him lying in a pool of his own blood on the sidewalk in front of City Hall.
The incident, which comes amid nationwide protests against police brutality, has prompted calls for the officers involved to be fired. The police department has also been criticized over its initial statement claiming the man had ‘tripped and fell.’
In a press conference on Friday afternoon, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said he would not call for the cops’ termination ahead of the investigation, saying it was important they get ‘due process.’
He said Gugino had been in the area after the city’s curfew and had been asked to ‘leave numerous times’ Thursday night.
‘One of the things that happened before that incident, was there was a conflict between protesters. There was a danger of fights breaking out between protesters. The police felt it was very important to clean that scene for the safety of protesters,’ he added.
Mayor Brown also addressed the police department’s statement, which he said had been based on initial reports and was corrected after ‘video evidence started coming in that indicated otherwise.’
Martin Gugino (pictured) is in a serious but stable condition at Erie County Medical Center following the altercation with cops which left him lying in a pool of his own blood on the sidewalk in front of City Hall Thursday night
‘I will be the first to say that initial communication was an error, but it was a desire to respond to media inquiries really quickly and to provide information to the community quickly,’ he said. He added that officials took immediate action after the footage came to light.
When asked about the 57 members who resigned, he said the city had a ‘contingency plan’ and assured ‘Buffalo will be safe this weekend.’
Earlier today, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called for criminal charges to be made against the officers.
In his daily press briefing Friday morning, Cuomo played the shocking footage which he said made him feel ‘physically sick’ in the same way the horrifying state death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has hit him over the last 90 days.
‘I was sick to my stomach… it was the same feeling I had for 90 of the past nights when I got the death tolls for coronavirus. I was physically sick to my stomach,’ he said.
The governor called for the city to fire and charge the two cops responsible for the attack on the elderly man and urged authorities to move quickly.
‘I think the city should pursue firing and I think the DA should look at the situation for possible criminal charges and I think that should be done on an expeditious basis,’ he said.
Cuomo urged officials to learn from the handling of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis where authorities were slammed for moving too slowly in bringing charges against the officers who killed him, sparking outrage across America.
‘We saw in Minneapolis that people want answers and they want accountability and they want it quickly,’ said Cuomo. ‘The wheels of justice move slowly – they don’t have to.
‘I would encourage the DA to not do what happened in Minneapolis, which was the delay itself caused issues.’
He pointed to mistakes made where the Minneapolis authorities suggested evidence would lead to the cops involved in Floyd’s death not facing any charges.
‘When the DA said initially ‘there’s other evidence that suggests something else’… people don’t want vaguery… they’re upset, angry and frustrated… I would encourage the DA to move quickly and fairly and I think the mayor and police chief should pursue firing,’ he added.
Cuomo praised Mayor Brown for acting quickly in suspending officers immediately Thursday night.
Shocking video showed two officers inexplicably shoving him before he staggers and falls to the ground
The sound of a crack is heard on the video before blood is seen trickling out of the man’s head
‘The mayor suspended those two cops quickly and I respect that.’
The governor also slammed the actions of the several other officers who ignored the man and kept on walking by as he lay unconscious and bleeding on the sidewalk.
‘Where was the threat and then you just walk by the person when you see blood coming from his head and the police officers walk by. It’s fundamentally offensive and frightening,’ he said.
Cuomo said he he had spoken with the elderly man about the incident.
‘I just spoke with Mr Gugino on the phone – who is that gentleman – who thankfully is alive,’ the governor said.
‘But you see that video and it disturbs your basic sense of decency and humanity,’ Cuomo said.
‘Why was that necessary? Where was the threat?’
‘Who are we and how did we get to this place?’ he asked, before reeling off a list of horrifying incidents over the last week including cops pushing the press, police being hit with bricks and officers being violent toward protesters.
Cuomo’s outrage comes as Gugino’s friend Terrence Bisson told Buffalo News the 75-year-old is a peaceful activist who has campaigned against several issues including nuclear disarmament, the detainment of migrant children, climate change and Guantanamo Bay.
Bisson said the elderly man, who has a YouTube channel where he discusses such issues, would ‘never resist physically any kind of orders’.
‘He’s a gentle person who really believes that he must stand up for what he thinks is right,’ he said.
‘That’s why he went to the demonstration. He would never resist physically any kind of orders,’ Bisson said. ‘He’s a bit frail, not because of his age. He has some health problems.’
Cuomo’s outrage comes as Gugino’s (pictured) friend Terrence Bisson told Buffalo News the 75-year-old is a peaceful activist who has campaigned against several issues including nuclear disarmament, the detainment of migrant children, climate change and Guantanamo Bay
Many of the officers continued marching, while two cops leaned over to check on the man
Governor Cuomo responded to the incident on Twitter calling it ‘utterly disgraceful’
The shocking footage of Thursday night’s incident has sparked outrage as protesters continue to gather across the US demanding an end to police brutality following the death of George Floyd in police custody last week.
The video, which was taken by a reporter from local radio station WBFO, shows Gugino approaching a line of officers in riot gear outside Buffalo City Hall after the city’s 8pm curfew on Thursday.
As he tries to speak to the officers, they immediately begin shouting at him to move along, before one of them pushes him with a baton and a second cop shoves him with his hand.
The elderly man is then seen staggering before falling back and hitting his head on the sidewalk.
The sound of a crack is heard and then blood is seen pouring from his head.
In the horrifying scenes, most cops ignore Gugino who lies unresponsive and bleeding on the ground and keep marching past.
The cop who pushed him with a baton is seen pausing to lean over him, before he is motioned away by another officer.
Someone is then heard calling for a medic for the man.
Gugino was taken to the hospital where he is still being kept in a serious but stable condition Friday morning.
Buffalo Police initially released a statement saying a person ‘was injured when he tripped & fell’. But authorities later confirmed the two cops are under investigation and have been suspended without pay.
Mayor Brown slammed the incident saying he was ‘deeply disturbed by the video.’
‘Tonight, after a physical altercation between two separate groups of protesters participating in an illegal demonstration beyond the curfew, two Buffalo Police officers knocked down a 75-year-old man. The victim is in stable but serious condition at ECMC,’ he said in a statement late Thursday.
‘After days of peaceful protests and several meetings between myself, police leadership and members of the community, tonight’s event is disheartening.’
The officers were said to have been heading to clear Niagara Square where protests were taking place.
The video has been widely shared on social media, with many calling for the police officers to be fired.
MSNBC correspondent Joy Reid was among those who expressed outrage over the police officers failing to help the man as he lay on the ground.
‘The rest just step over him while one calls it in. And then they grab another protester. What country is this and what century?’ she tweeted.
Actor Kumail Nanjiani also criticized the Buffalo Police Department’s initial claim that the man tripped and fell, suggesting the cops would have likely gotten away with their actions if video hadn’t emerged.
It comes as the NYPD, as well as police officers across the country, have come under fire for using excessive force on people protesting peacefully.