Police officers who shoved an elderly protester in Buffalo, USA, have had their assault charges dropped.
A jury reportedly decided not to indict the 2 officers.
A video that was shared on social media last year, police officers were seen pushing the elderly man to the ground at a Black Lives Matter protest in June of 2020.
In the video, you can see the elderly man lying in a pool of blood.
The man, who was later identified as Martin Gugino, fractured his skull as a result of the altercation and was unable to walk for some time.
The 2 police officers were placed on unpaid leave as a consequence of the accident.
Several officers walked past the elderly man as he was bleeding from hitting his head on the pavement.
8 months after the incident, Aaron Torgalski and Robert McCabe, the police officers that pushed the man to the ground, were not indicted with felony second-degree assault charges.
The 2 pleaded no guilty.
Erie County District Attorney John Flynn announced the news on February 11, 2021.
They insisted that he presented all relevant evidence to the grand jury.
They said:
I’ve got 28 years as a naval officer, and I live and breathe every day by the core values: honor, courage and commitment. And integrity happens to be a big thing with me. And I’m sitting here right now talking into every one of these mics, looking at every one of these cameras right here, looking at each one of you in the eye right now, and I’m telling you that I sandbagged nothing. I went into that grand jury, I put all relevant evidence into that grand jury. I put multiple witnesses in that grand jury. I put everything that was not cumulative into that grand jury. And you got my word on that.
The Buffalo Police Benevolent Association issued a statement saying that they are pleased with the decisions of the grand jury.
The union said:
As we have stated all along, Officers McCabe and Torgalski were simply following departmental procedures and the directives of their superiors to clear Niagara Square despite working under extremely challenging circumstances.
John Evans, the president of Buffalo, said:
We are grateful the Grand Jury decided not to charge. They saw there was no criminal intent. These officers have been put through hell. We look forward for their return to work.
McCabe and Torgalski did not release a statement about the incident.
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