Referee clears Buffalo cops who pushed elderly protester during George Floyd protest

Two Buffalo, New York, police officers who pushed a 75-year-old protester to the ground during a demonstration over the 2020 killing of George Floyd are set to return to work after a referee cleared them of any wrongdoing, the Buffalo News and the Associated Press reported.

Arbitrator Jeffrey Selchick concluded Friday that officers Robert McCabe and Aaron Torgalski were entirely justified in shoving Martin Gugino on the day of the protest near City Hall in downtown Buffalo, N.H. York.

The arbitration ruling only impacts charges filed by the Buffalo Police Department for improper use of force and acting in a manner that brought the department into disrepute, according to the Buffalo News.

A passerby filmed the confrontation between Gugino, who was alone, and a large group of police officers in riot gear, as they walked on a sidewalk during the June 4, 2020 protest.

The brief video, which quickly went viral, shows Gugino approaching the two officers and stopping in front of them while holding his phone in one hand and a helmet in the other.

The officers pushed Gugino and continued to advance, causing him to stumble backward and fall on his back, his head hitting the concrete sidewalk. As Gugino lay on the ground, motionless and bleeding, many officers continued to advance.

Selchick said the two officers were justified in using that level of force because Gugino refused to comply with the officers’ orders, the Associated Press reported.

Warning: the videos below contain graphic content.

Gugino was hospitalized for a month with a skull fracture and brain injury.

Selchick attributed Gugino’s loss of balance to holding objects in his hands, his age or being surprised that the officers pushed him, The Buffalo News reported.

“Upon review, there is no evidence to support the contention that respondents (police officers) had any viable options other than removing Gugino from their forward movement,” Selchick wrote, according to The Buffalo News.

Selchick also said the officers’ actions “did not reflect any intention on their part to do anything other than take Gugino away from them.”

Attorney Melissa Wischerath, who represents Gugino, told the Buffalo News that her team is “not aware of any cases in which this arbitrator has ruled against on-duty police officers.”

She added: “So his decision here on behalf of the police was not only expected by us, but it was certainly expected by the union and the city that selected and paid him. »

McCabe and Torgalski were suspended without pay and were initially charged with second-degree criminal assault. In February 2021, a grand jury declined to indict the officers on these charges.

Gugino currently has a federal lawsuit against the Buffalo Police Department for his injuries.

Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia announced he would reinstate the two officers on Monday.

Buffalo police did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for additional comment.

Police officers across the country used excessive force against protesters during the summer of 2020, when demonstrations and civil unrest erupted across the country to protest the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd , as well as the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.

During a protest in Detroit in June 2020, a police SUV drove through a crowd of protesters. In New York, police officers attacked protesters: one officer shoved a woman and caused her to have a seizure, while another drove through a crowd of protesters at high speed.

This article was originally published on HuffPost and has been updated.

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