Buffalo police officers cleared of charges for pushing 75-year-old man to the ground in George Floyd protests
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Two officers from the Buffalo Police Department who pushed a 75-year-old man to the ground during racial injustice protests over the murder of George Floyd have been cleared of any wrongdoing.
Martin Gugino suffered a skull fracture when he was shoved into the pavement in June 2020 while participating in one of the Black Lives Matter protests that rocked the US in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis by a white police officer, who knelt on the man's neck for nine minutes.
Nearly two years later, an arbitrator on Friday ruled that Officers Robert McCabe and Aaron Torgalski were justified in pushing Mr Gugino because he refused to comply with the orders and acted erratically.
“Upon review, there is no evidence to sustain any claim that respondents [police officers] had any other viable options other than to move Gugino out of the way of their forward movement," Jeffrey Selchick wrote in his decision.
“The use of force employed by respondents reflected no intent on their part to do more than to move Gugino away from them,” the arbitrator added.
The officers faced backlash after a video crew captured the incident of Mr Gugino being shoved by both the officers as police in riot gear cleared demonstrators for an 8pm curfew.
The video, which went viral on social media, showed Mr Gugino approaching the officers while holding his phone in one hand and helmet in another. He was then pushed by the men, who continued to walk forward.
Mr Gugino started bleeding after hitting his head on the concrete pavement and was hospitalised for a month with a fractured skull and brain injury.
The officers were suspended without pay and arrested within days of the incident, however, last year a grand jury declined to indict them and dropped the charges.
Both the officers would be reinstated to duty on Monday, police commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said in a statement.
Melissa Wischerath, an attorney for Mr Gugino, who has sued the city, said that the ruling does not impact the lawsuit.
“We are not aware of any case where this arbitrator has ruled against on-duty police officers, so his ruling here on behalf of the police was not only expected by us, but was certainly expected by the union and city who selected and paid him,” Ms Wischerath told the Buffalo News.
Martin Gugino deserves better. He is our elder. pic.twitter.com/9VvYVazRNo
— Liz Mariani 🌹 (@LizMarianiPoet) April 11, 2022
I’ve a long history of teaming up with law enforcement on public safety issues — and I am not a “defund” guy, BUT this was blatant abuse of police power. This whitewashing decision is an injustice and a stain on democracy. @TheBuffaloNews #justice https://t.co/NclkA5gEq8
— Bill Bronrott 🗽 (@bronrott) April 10, 2022
Darren, here, by WKBW, Buffalo local station.https://t.co/k61yzNdi1a
Unbelievable gaslighting by the arbitrator. "No excessive force". 🙄
We all SAW the video. I'm done with Buffalo, with thug cops like that who can crack your head and get away with it. Never going back.— Lori Sirianni (@4AnimalLife) April 11, 2022
Buffalo cops who pushed 75 year old Martin Gugino to ground cleared of wrongdoing by arbitrator.
No wonder people distrust and fear police. They’re just roving gangs protected by the state when they hurt people. #blacklivesmatter #acab https://t.co/1pe9KHL0ql— Groucho Manx 😼 (@Groucho_Manx) April 10, 2022