A huge crowd was captured on camera applauding and cheering in support of the two Buffalo police officers who have been charged with second-degree assault for pushing a protesting pensioner to the ground.
Yesterday, it was reported that officers Aaron Torglaski, 39, and Robert McCabe, 32, had been arrested and charged during their video arraignments on Saturday (June 6) before Judge Craig Hannah.
They were both later released on their own recognizance.
Now, video footage has appeared on social media showing 100 fellow officers and friends gathered outside Buffalo City Court to applaud the suspended assailants.
The footage can be seen below:The video was reportedly recorded following the video arraignments.
Both Torglaski and McCabe reportedly entered pleas of not guilty and are expected back in court on July 20 for a felony hearing.
The reaction to the footage of the cheering crowd has been met with backlash on social media. Here are just a selection of tweets responding to the footage:
On Thursday (June 4), 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.
In a press conference on 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."
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.
Yesterday, we revealed that every officer in the Buffalo Police Department's Emergency Response Team had resigned from the unit after Torglaski and McCabe were suspended.
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 still 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!"
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