An elderly, peaceful protestor was the victim of police violence in Buffalo, NY, as cops were caught on camera shoving him so brutally to the ground that he bled from his head. Activists are horrified by the footage.
The world was watching in real time as two police officers in Buffalo, New York shoved an elderly peaceful protestor to the ground with no provocation. The shocking incident happened on June 4, and was caught on camera by a news crew. The unnamed man, 75, was thrown to the ground by officers in riot gear, tumbling backward and hitting his head hard on the concrete sidewalk. Blood poured out of his right ear as a crowd of police stepped around the unconscious protestor, rather than coming to his aid. You can see the footage below — but warning, it contains scenes of graphic violence.
Two police officers in Buffalo, New York, were suspended after shoving a protester in this incident that was caught on video. An official said the man was hospitalized with a head injury.
The video contains vulgarity and disturbing images. https://t.co/A2Q92yP65q pic.twitter.com/DXq54eDZN8
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 5, 2020
The protestor survived and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he remains in serious condition, according to Mayor Byron Brown. Brown. The video, taken by WBFO’s Mike Desmond, contradicts the statement given by the Buffalo PD, that a person at the protest in Niagara Square “was injured when he tripped and fell.” After explosive outrage on Twitter, Instagram, and beyond, the two officers in question (unnamed at this time) have been suspended without pay and are under investigation.
Mayor Brown condemned the actions of the officers in a June 4 statement, writing, “I am deeply disturbed by this video… tonight’s event is disheartening. I hope to continue to build on the progress we have achieved as we work together to address racial injustice and inequity in the City of Buffalo. My thoughts are with the victim tonight.”
pic.twitter.com/ofZCzm78mq
— Byron W. Brown (@MayorByronBrown) June 5, 2020
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also opposed the violent behavior shown by the officers. “The incident in Buffalo is wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful,” he said in a statement. “I’ve spoken with City of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and we agree that the officers involved should be immediately suspended. Police officers must enforce — NOT ABUSE — the law.”
The incident is Buffalo comes during another night in which protestors, rallying against police brutality, were met with more violence at the hands of police. Protestors have been teargassed, shot at with rubber bullets, hit with projectile bean bags, maced, and stunned with flash bombs. This includes outside the White House, where peaceful demonstrators were attacked so that President Donald Trump could stroll to a nearby church for a photo op.
Activists were rightly outraged by what they saw in Buffalo. “I can’t stop thinking about how those cops just swatted him away like a fly and then left him bleeding on the ground as they marched,” Washington Post writer Karen Attiah tweeted, horrified. “I’m haunted by that Buffalo video of an older gentleman shoved down, left prostrate+bleeding. I’m not haunted by the attack, but by the dozen officers emphatically walking over him, even stopping a peer from helping. We’ll do evil as a face in a crowd we would never do alone,” another person tweeted.
Black Lives Matter protestors demand justice (REX/Shutterstock)
All because they’re marching with Black Lives Matter in the wake of George Floyd‘s killing at the hands of police. Floyd, an unnarmed black man, was pinned down by the neck by a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, for nine minutes as he begged that he couldn’t breathe. Chauvin has been arrested on charges of second-degree and third-degree murder, as well as manslaughter. The three other officers present were charged with aiding and abetting. Protestors in all 50 states and around the world are also demanding justice for Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, as well.
Sourse: hollywoodlife.com
