On June 4, cell phone footage showing Martin Gugino, 75, being shoved to the ground by Buffalo police officers went viral on social media.
The video showed Gugino, from Amherst, in Erie County, approaching a line of officers wearing riot gear as they attempted to clear the square ahead of the 8:00PM curfew following a peaceful protest held in the area.
One officer then shoves Gugino with a baton before a second officer pushes him back.
Unable to protect himself, Gugino then falls to the ground. The sound of his head hitting the ground can clearly be heard, and blood can be seen trickling from his head.
The video can be seen below (Warning: some readers will find it upsetting):On Saturday (June 6), it was reported that officers Aaron Torglaski, 39, and Robert McCabe, 32, had been arrested and charged during their video arraignments before Judge Craig Hannah. The two Buffalo police officers have currently been charged with second-degree assault - which is a felony.
Torglaski and McCabe's suspensions over the incident not only resulted in 57 officers resigning from their positions in the Buffalo Police Department's Emergency Response Team, but following their arraignments, Torglaski and McCabe were greeted with cheers by colleagues, friends, and family.
The footage can be seen below:Now, Gugino's lawyer has spoken out about her client's injuries and recovery process.
Per USA Today, attorney Kelly Zarcone said on Thursday via an email statement that Gugino is a "soft-spoken but thoughtful and principled man."
Zarcone then added that Gugino has suffered a "brain injury" as a result of the push, writing: "As heartbreaking as it is, his brain is injured and he is well aware of that now." She added that the 75-year-old has now started physical therapy, which Zarcone described as "a step in the right direction".
As a result of this development, she revealed that Gugino will not be doing any media interviews.
Zarcone's statement continued:
"He feels encouraged and uplifted by the outpouring of support which he has received from so many people all over the globe. It helps. He is looking forward to healing and determining what his 'new normal' might look like."
Earlier this week, President Trump claimed that Gugino could have faked his fall and described him as an "ANTIFA provocateur".
Taking to Twitter, the president wrote: "Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur. 75 year old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment. @OANN I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up [sic]?"
In a press conference last Friday (June 5), Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said Gugino was an "agitator" who tried to work up the crowd of protesters.
Brown added that the elderly man had been asked to leave the area "numerous" times, the Daily Mail reports.
Mayor Brown has confirmed that the man was transported to hospital, where he is currently in a stable but serious condition. He added during the press conference:
"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.
"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."
Despite the callous nature of the video, Buffalo Police Benevolent Association President John Evans said the men "were simply following orders from Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia to clear the square."
Per BBC, Evans told The Buffalo News:
"Our position is these officers were simply following orders from Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia to clear the square.
"It doesn't specify clear the square of men, 50 and under or 15 to 40. They were simply doing their job. I don't know how much contact was made. He did slip in my estimation. He fell backwards."
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