Buffalo Cops Who Shoved 75-Year-Old At 2020 Black Lives Matter Protest Will Not Face Punishment
Two Buffalo police officers who were suspended without pay for shoving a 75-year-old man to the ground at a Black Lives Matter protest on June 4, 2020, and later charged with second-degree assault, are reportedly been cleared of wrongdoing by an arbitrator on Friday (April 8).
Officers Robert McCabe, 32, and Aaron Torgalski, 39, originally pleaded not guilty to the charges, which were felonies. According to CNN, in the ruling, arbitrator Jeffrey M. Selchick found the two officers not guilty of three eventual charges of violating police and city rules, saying their use of force in pushing social justice activist Martin Gugino was “absolutely legitimate.”
The arbitrator added that the protestor was not complying with their orders to leave the area and “was definitely not an innocent bystander.”
The event was captured on video and shows Gugino approaching a large group of officers in tactical gear. He then says something to the officers, who demand he move. As he moves back, two cops simultaneously push him hard, causing him to fall on his back and hit his head against the concrete. Gugino is clearly seen bleeding from his ear and back of his head.
John Flynn, the Erie County, N.Y. District Attorney, said in a press conference at the time that McCabe and Torgalski "clearly crossed the line."
"I can't turn a blind eye to that," he said. "If he was violating a curfew, if he was being disorderly, you turn him around, handcuff him, and take him away and arrest him. It's as simple as that. You don't take a baton and shove it; along with the officer next to him using his right hand to shove him and knock him down, and crack his head, his skull on the concrete."
During the arbitration proceeding, both officers downplayed the force they used. McCabe testified that he gave Gugino a “nudge” in order to “get him away from our personal space. We had no intention on injuring him,” according to the arbitrator's report. Additionally, Torgalski testified he “didn’t make solid contact with (Gugino).”
Melissa D. Wischerath, Gugino’s attorney, said in a statement, according to CNN, that she was not surprised by the arbitration ruling and noted that the ruling is separate from a civil lawsuit Gugino has filed against the city and police. "This private mediation should not be confused with an independent, transparent and public court proceeding," she said.
