Arbitrator Clears Buffalo Cops Who Pushed Elderly Protester At George Floyd Protest

Two Buffalo, New York, police officers who pushed a 75-year-old protester to the ground during a 2020 protest of George Floyd’s murder are set to return to work after an arbitrator cleared them of wrongdoing, the Buffalo News and Associated Press reported.

Arbitrator Jeffrey Selchick concluded Friday that officers Robert McCabe and Aaron Torgalski were completely justified in shoving Martin Gugino the day of the protest near the city hall in downtown Buffalo, New York.

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

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

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 marching forward, sending Gugino stumbling backward and falling onto his back, his head slamming into the concrete sidewalk. As Gugino lay on the floor motionless and bleeding, many officers continued to march onward.

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

Warning: The videos below contain graphic content.

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

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

“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,” wrote Selchick, according to The Buffalo News . 

Selchick also said the officers’ actions “reflected no intent on their part to do more than to move Gugino away from them.” 

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

She added: “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.” 

McCabe and Torgalski were suspended without pay and initially faced charges of second-degree felony assault. In February 2021, a grand jury declined to indict the officers  on the charges.

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

Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia announced that he would be reinstating both officers to duty on Monday.

Buffalo police didn’t immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for further comment.

Police officers across the country exhibited use of excessive force against protesters during the summer of 2020, when demonstrations and civil unrest broke out nationwide to protest the police killings of Breonna Taylor  and George Floyd , and the murder of Ahmaud Arbery .

In a protest in Detroit in June 2020, a police SUV drove through a crowd of protesters. In New York City, police officers aggressively lashed out at protesters, with one officer shoving a woman and causing her to have a seizure and another driving through a crowd of protesters at high speeds.