In a press conference yesterday (June 5), Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said the 75-year-old man who was shoved to the ground by two police officers on Thursday 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.
On Thursday, cell phone footage showing Martin Gugino, 75, being shoved to the ground by police went viral on social media.
The video shows Gugino holding a cell phone and approaching a line of officers wearing riot gear as they attempted to clear the square ahead of the 8:00PM curfew. One officer then shoves the man with a baton before a second man pushes him back.
The 75-year-old then falls backward, unable to protect himself. 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):One officer can be seen leaning over the man as if to attend to him, but is motioned away by a colleague. The line of officers then marches past the injured man.
The video was originally released by local radio station WBFO.
Mayor Brown has confirmed that the man was transported to hospital, where he is currently in a stable but serious condition.
He said at 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."
According to the Daily Mail, Gugino is a longtime peace activist from Amherst, and had been protesting at Niagara Square near Buffalo City Hall when he approached the line of officers.
Earlier today we reported that every officer in the Buffalo Police Department's Emergency Response Team resigned from the team after two of their colleagues were suspended for the incident.
As reported by Sky News, the 57 members of the response team resigned from the tactical unit in protest at their two colleagues being suspended. The officers will continue to work in the larger police department.
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."
Speaking to local TV station WGRZ, Evans added the rest of the team had quit the unit "in disgust because of the treatment of two of their members, who were simply executing orders".
Mayor Brown said that he was "deeply disturbed by the video" and added that Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood had ordered an investigation into the incident.
Nevertheless, Brown has added that he is not calling for the two officers to be fired amid the ongoing investigation, as it is "very important they get due process".
Basketball legend LeBron James has since tweeted about the incident, writing: "Don’t matter what color your skin is if you’re not angry seeing this you’re part of the problem too!"
Unrest continues to unfold across the US, as protests - some peaceful, some violent - are calling out the systemic injustices carried out against black people, not least seen by the recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.
As well as a call for justice, these ongoing protests are also demanding an end to police brutality and the racism that is so deeply entrenched in America and the western world.
The message is simple: Black lives matter.
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