Buffalo mayor says 75-year-old man pushed by cops was an agitator: 'He was trying to spark up the crowd'
BUFFALO, NEW YORK: Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said that the 75-year-old man seen being shoved by two police officers into the ground in a viral video on June 4 was an "agitator" and hence he will not be sacking the cops responsible for injuring him during the George Floyd protests.
“What we were informed of is that that individual was an agitator. He was trying to spark up the crowd of people. Those people were there into the darkness. Our concern is when it gets dark, there is a potential for violence,” Brown said. “There has been vandalism, there have been fires set, there have been stores broken into and looted. According to what was reported to me, that individual was a key major instigator of people engaging in those activities,”
Earlier on June 4, a 39-second graphic video clip by WBFO's Mike Desmond was posted on Twitter, which showed activist Martin Gugino being shoved to the ground by a police officer in tactical in Niagara Square while enforcing a curfew. The Buffalo Police was clearing the crowd post the 8 pm curfew when Gugino, clad in a face mask, walked up to the police officers near the City Hall Building. The police officers shouted at him to move back, while another shoved him, causing him to stumble backward and fall head-first onto the pavement. Gugino started bleeding from the back of the head and ears, and an ambulance was immediately called to the scene. He suffered a severe head injury is reportedly in a "stable but serious condition".
After the clip went viral on social media, Brown said on Thursday that he was "deeply disturbed by the video." “After days of peaceful protests and several meetings between myself, police leadership, and members of the community, tonight’s event is disheartening," he said at the time. But more recently he confirmed that he will not be insisting that the two cops be fired because they need to get “due process”.
Buffalo Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood, per Reuters, ordered an investigation and suspended the two officers, while New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that he spoke with Mayor Brown and agreed that the officers involved should be suspended, pending a formal investigation. As per the New York Times, Erie County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement on Friday that prosecutors were investigating the incident.
John T. Evans, the president of the Buffalo police union, announced on the same day that all 57 officers on the Emergency Response Team, a special squad formed to respond to riots, had resigned from their posts in support of the officers who were suspended. “Fifty-seven resigned in disgust because of the treatment of two of their members, who were simply executing orders,” Evans said. “At this time, we can confirm that contingency plans are in place to maintain police services and ensure public safety within our community. The Buffalo police continue to actively work with the New York State Police and other cooperating agencies.”
When Brown was recently asked to comment on the 57 members who resigned from the team, he reiterated the "contingency plans" that the city had in place and that "Buffalo will be safe this weekend.". "I want people out in our community peacefully protesting to know everyone who is peacefully protesting will be protected," he said.
Cuomo said that he had met with the 75-year-old victim and he was a longtime peace activist from Amherst. The governor also pressed for disciplinary action against the cops who were responsible for Gugino's condition. "I think the city should pursue firing," Cuomo said. "And I think the district attorney should look at the situation for possible criminal charges."