Buffalo Police Seriously Injure 75-Year-Old Man During Protest

Two Buffalo police officers have been suspended and the man is in the hospital.

A 75-year-old man was hospitalized Thursday evening after two Buffalo police officers knocked him down during a protest over the police killing of George Floyd. Those two officers have been suspended and an internal investigation is underway.

Video shows the man approaching a line of Buffalo Police officers enforcing the city's 8 p.m. curfew. He exchanges words with two of the officers, who yell at him to get back, and then one officer shoves him. The man falls backward and his head slams onto the pavement. Numerous officers walk by him as blood pools around his head.

https://twitter.com/WBFO/status/1268712530358292484

The Buffalo Police Department initially issued a press release saying that "one protester was injured when he tripped and fell."

Later Thursday night, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown tweeted that he was "deeply disturbed by the video, as was Buffalo Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood."

"After days of peaceful protests and several meetings between myself, Police leadership and members of the community, tonight's event is disheartening," Brown added. "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."

Brown wrote that the man is "in stable but serious condition" at a local hospital.

Lockwood suspended the two main officers involved without pay and has ordered an investigation into the incident.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo wrote in a tweet that the incident was "wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful."

The man is not the first elderly victim of police violence during the protests over the killing of George Floyd. Widely shared video showed police in Salt Lake City shoving an elderly man with a cane to the ground:

The chyron literally says "Protests turn violent in Salt Lake City" pic.twitter.com/Mp3cZvxZmR

— Philip N Cohen (@familyunequal) June 4, 2020

Comments

[SQRLSY One]

"Lockwood suspended the two main officers involved without pay and has ordered an investigation into the incident."

Wow! NOT a vacation with pay, for once! This is progress! Yay!

[Longtobefree]

Not getting current pay; back pay will come with the reinstatement, when the press moves on to whatever it is Trump is responsible for next.

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[Frank Thorn]

Then go out on workman's comp. for PTSD, like the cop that maced the nonviolent protester in the face (from a few feet) a few years ago.

[ByteRot]

When does everybody present get charged with falsifying a report?

[Troglodyte Rex]

Honestly. You're on video, why can't oinkers tell the truth? Do they take a class in how to lie in official reports?

[Earth Skeptic]

Several classes, plus annual refresher training.

But all of that just refines a fundamental human ability to ignore objective reality and tell stories to fit our fantasies.

Try this: strip down, stand in front of a full size mirror, and describe your physical shape.

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[MoreFreedom]

The guy who made the false statement to the public needs to be fired, and IMHO that ought to be a law against it (at least it's a law that only applies to government employees - otherwise I don't think I've ever uttered that phrase).

[ThomasD]

Agreed. Everyone of them needs to go find another line of work at minimum.

[mad.casual]

The EMT on the scene should probably stay. That dude probably earned his paycheck.

[Wise Old Fool]

Those fuckers could have handcuffed him, instead they pushed the old dude down hard on concrete, this is attempted murder. They showed no remorse and kept right on jackbooting up the street. The untrained (for protests) military guy actually stopped to help. Sad all the way around how little they give a fuck. One cop paused to help a little and the other guys pushed him forward, that right there is how they train their rookies to not give a fuck.

[ThomasD]

As small and frail as he is they could have picked him up and set him down out of the way.

[cgr2727]

That thought doesn't even cross a typical pig mind. Nail, meet hammer.

[GKHoffman]

You missed the special sarc font.

[Jury Nullification]

"As small and frail as he is they could have picked him up and set him down out of the way."

They teach Them that it is dangerous to underestimate your victim. Perhaps Them thought the man was a Weeble.

[pro bonobo]

Small and frail?

He was taller than the three cops he was confronting.

[cgr2727]

You mention the one cop pausing to help a little, when the other guy pushed him forward. I saw it more as the shorter cop with his face shield down moving in for the kill, while the other guy (the one who came up in the middle, from behind the two pushers) seemed more like a supervisor doing the "move along, nothing to see here" routine, or maybe even trying to keep a bad situation from getting worse. Looked to me like the one with his visor down and both hands on the billy club was about to lean over and go full "want a piece of me" on the poor unconscious guy.

[Wearenotperfect]

I just saw a bunch of douchebags in blue uniforms!

[Agammamon]

So, you're trying to say that the cops leaving the dude there was actually the best outcome?

[Truthteller1]

Attempted murder? You're an idiot.

[Frank Thorn]

Felony assault and RICO.

[mapol]

This particular incident, in which an elderly white man was attacked, and shoved to the pavement by the cops is proof that nobody, regardless of race, ethnicity or color, is immune to being the victim of police brutality.

[pro bonobo]

One cop makes a radio call and a couple of army medics arrive to render aid to the old fart who refused to clear the area.

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[Mother's lament]

Meanwhile the politician who armed and ordered the cops to be there clucks his tongue at those awful, awful brutes.

Have we reached peak hypocrisy yet? Is there still depths to plumb?

[Jerry B.]

You mean the Democratic mayor? Funny how much of the violence, from both sides, is occurring in Democratic municipalities.

[Jason Cavanaugh]

Even more funny is how most Republicans in 2020 are fucking morons.

Thanks for proving the point.

[Troglodyte Rex]

Try hucking that shit to a non-libertarian crowd.

[Mike Drop]

I'm not sure your childish outburst is making the point you think you're making. This is an instance where "both sides" is a distraction from the on the ground reality. Which in itself may explain why you're so riled up, for once your enemies are provably right about being better than you.

[Jury Nullification]

"...for once your enemies are provably right about being better than you."

Feel the Bern, Trog.

[RobertWorth]

Republicans don't believe in science. They prefer magic and the supernatural, so they must be smarter.

[NOYB2]

I suppose you're right. Homelessness, police violence, race riots, racial inequality, and welfare dependency occur overwhelmingly in Democratically controlled, progressive cities and states. Yet, many Republicans in 2020 still think the right response is to echo progressive talking points instead of going on the attack against the reprehensible conditions and policies of progressive.

[Zeb]

How many big cities are there that aren't Democratic municipalities?

[Formerly Cynical Asshole]

Hypocrisy, like stupidity, are the only truly infinite resources. There is no such thing as peak hypocrisy or peak stupid.

[Earth Skeptic]

So then, how do we convert stupidity into electricity?

[R Mac]

Would forced running on a hamster wheel be considered cruel and unusual?

[Wise Old Fool]

So we should allow protestors to run up and down the streets torching buildings? Fuck that. Police response is needed to maintain order. What's not needed is these militarized fuckers who will shoot people in the face without remorse. They should be instantly ejected from the force. No police union, no second chances, it's right there on the fucking camera. they should also face criminal charges for assault. There is nothing in their role as a police officer that allows them to go around flagrantly shoving old men down on the pavement, hard, and then keep walking when the guy is laying there bleeding out on the ground when there are dozens around that could stop and check on him.

[Jury Nullification]

"Police response is needed to maintain order."

FFS Them did respond. Until you have some skin in the game it's best you not micro-manage and second guess Them highly skilled professionals. sarc

In my state, it takes 500 hours to get a police certification and 1,500 hours to get a cosmetology license. Apparently, walking with scissors is more dangerous than someone being granted the authoritah to arrest while armed.

[Zeb]

Except the police are failing to maintain order, while injuring people who are legitimately protesting. We should allow peaceful protesters to do their thing, even if it's disruptive and annoying, and crack down hard on violent assholes looting and burning shit. Though I'd honestly be happier to see residents and business owners shooting looters right now than the police try to chase them around. Police are only going to show up after the fact, when the damage is already done.

[cgr2727]

Exactly. There's plenty of righteous anger to be directed at the pigs who keep acting like it's their god given right to have their authoritah respected, and the pig unions who squawk about just getting home safe. How about pointing some of that anger and indignation as the stupid bureaucratic retards and elected lickspittle city councilors who enable this behavior, and don't demand change? I really and truly think that they forget the cops work for them/us, not the other way around. If I had any shot at all of being elected to my local city council, I'd love the idea of marching into the police station and raising holy hell at what should be no more than bunch of municipal employees who report to the council. Instead I read story after story, and see meeting after meeting, where the copsucking councilors and bureaucrats look to the police to tell them what to do.

[Rockstevo]

Did you see the same video I did? One of the riot police starts to bend down to help and he is ordered to move on, then when someone mentions the guy needs medical assistance the response is there are EMT’s on site. If you knew anything about crowd control, these are the frontlines and they don’t stop for things like this, there should be officers behind them that is their job. If anything it is the supervisors fault, when this guy tried blocking the line there should have been second echelon officers with tie wraps that should have grabbed him and restrained him immediately. I am guessing that whoever was shooting the video cut out the part where EMT’s step in and start administering first aid…that would have impeded their narrative.
These mayors should tread lightly, if they keep denigrating the ones keeping the riots down they just might end up with a massive sick out from the police force and then they would be in the deep S@$t, if they are thinking the guard will rescue them they are in for a harsh reality check, if the guard there is anything like here in Texas most of them are 20 something who will be too busy on Instagram and twitter to worry about putting down rioters, after Harvey they were more of a hindrance than a help, it was the local law, the Cajun navy and those with boats that came from all over the country more than anyone else.

[swillfredo pareto]

These mayors should tread lightly

You missed a bit on your chin.

[Rockstevo]

It has started, the entire Emergency Response Team quit.

[Nardz]

Inexcusable.

I don't know if they technically can be charged, but they absolutely should be.

[Wise Old Fool]

They can be charged if the police chief has any balls. The fuckers didn't even stop to check on him while he bleeds out on the ground from his fucking ear. That's always a bad sign.

[Inigo Montoya]

From the photo, I’d guess the elderly protester is white. So, according to the prevailing narrative, this doesn’t count as police violence.

I can’t help but be amazed at how the problem of the unchecked power of police that leads to more and more brutality and armed robber—thanks to police unions, qualified immunity, and civil asset forfeiture—keeps being “diagnosed” as racism. Sure, racism is a part of the problem, but unchecked power is by far the bigger issue here.

It’s as if cancer were being interpreted as “rapid balding and unintended weight loss.” Are people seriously missing the forest for the trees that much?

[BigGiveNotBigGov]

Very good point.

I'd expand it beyond police power specifically to government power generally, because police are simply the enforcers of that power. The callous tone of policing and police abuse are features not bugs in enforcing that power.

[Mike Drop]

"I’d expand it beyond police power specifically to government power generally, because" that's the singular perspective you apply to every issue.

[R Mac]

It also changes the subject from something that has achievable solutions (that will probably not be enacted) to something that does not. Really no different then screaming about racism.

[Zeb]

achievable solutions (that will probably not be enacted)

If that's true, how are they any more achievable than a general reduction in the scope and power of government? It's different from screaming about racism because it is something that might actually solve some of the problems. You could erase every racist thought from everyone's minds and the racial disparities that exist would still be there and the police would still be whomping on poor people disproportionately.

[Zeb]

Yeah, but he's right. The problem isn't just about police. The number of excuses the police have to interfere with people who are minding their own business and not harming anyone is a huge part of the problem.

[BigT]

For the Progs and race-hustlers it harkens back to the ‘glory days’ of the 60’s when they took credit for social progress on race. Playing the race card is their go-to move because it has been effective and has emotional appeal.

[WC46]

When are these thugs in blue ever going to learn? A cop charged with 2nd degree murder, 3 charged with accessory, several cops in Georgia fired for unnecessarily tazing two college students who were simply leaving a scene that was turning violent, and now this. What's it going to take for the message to sink in that police brutality is not going to be tolerated? Is our entire society going to have to declare open and unrestrained war against the police and utterly overwhelm and destroy them?

[God]

It's natural to react to violence with violence but it's a loser's game. We the people have the power to shut these police down with the stoke of a pen. We need to unite for this one purpose and shut these police mafia organizations down. They were created through legislation and they can be undone by it.

[cgr2727]

What would be totally freaking awesome to see would be if the real army (not the national guard) were called out and started taking down the pigs instead of the people.

[Jury Nullification]

"...if the real army (not the national guard) were called out and started taking down the pigs instead of the people."

With the right dystopian story line it would be a potentially epic ending to a movie that Hollywood would never have the courage to make.

[Enjoy Every Sandwich]

Indeed. This is the systemic problem that needs to be addressed. And it's the one thing that nobody in power, including "woke" Democrats, has the slightest intention of changing.

[Wise Old Fool]

Stop it with your fucking race baiting. Reason readers aren't going to fall for it. The statistics are simple. Police treat black people like this more often than white people. That doesn't take away from the fact that they did this. It's common problem even if white people see less of it. Quit being a pussy and saying "oh it's so bad for us white people". What a load of shit. Go back to you the KKK group meetup and let us adults talk.

[mtrueman]

"Stop it with your fucking race baiting."

I'm not so sure it's race baiting. It's more like "White people don't complain when police brutalize white people, so it's unfair for black people to complain when it happens to them."

The idea is that White set the norms (accepting police brutality) and Blacks are expected to follow suit.

[mad.casual]

If it weren't so sad, this would be fucking hilarious.

The dude is pointing out how this example runs counter to the racist narrative espoused by the race baiting media and you fuckers manage to turn it about such that he and white people everywhere are responsible for all the race baiting.

Inigo could've said that 'wet roads plague white people too, the rain itself is the problem' and you dumbshits would be shouting back 'Quit race baiting!' and 'White people accept wet roads as the norm and expect black people to follow suit.'

[mtrueman]

"The dude is pointing out how this example runs counter to the racist narrative espoused by the race baiting media"

Race baiting media? The idea that CNN, FOX, Wall Street Journal or the New York Times are race baiting is ridiculous.

I don't believe that Inigo Montoya is race baiting. I said as much in my comment:

"I’m not so sure it’s race baiting."

I think Inigo Montoya is motivated by shame and resentment, rather than any particular animosity towards our black brothers and sisters. By protesting, they show courage and moral fortitude that he lacks.

[mad.casual]

The idea is that White set the norms (accepting police brutality) and Blacks are expected to follow suit.

"The idea is that roads get wet when rain is around, ergo wet roads cause rain." - You. Dumb. Fuck.

[mtrueman]

I don't believe Inigo Montoya is race baiting here. He's motivated instead by shame and resentment at his own lack of response to police brutality.

[mad.casual]

The idea that CNN, FOX, Wall Street Journal or the New York Times are race baiting is ridiculous.

Also, I didn't name any names. You did.

[mtrueman]

I named four. Six if you want to stretch the point.

[ravenshrike]

Or it's that there isn't an entire group of bottom feeders whose livelihood is dependent on race hustling combined with the fact that the significantly lower number of white people brutalized per square mile because of living patterns means that there are significantly less witnesses per incident of brutality. Thus the conscious realization of said incidences occurring is not there for most white people.

[mtrueman]

Is it race hustling to protest police brutality against whites?

There are white people living in cities. They typically outnumber blacks.

" there are significantly less witnesses per incident of brutality"

You mean 'fewer' witnesses. Countable noun.

[NOYB2]

The idea is that White set the norms (accepting police brutality) and Blacks are expected to follow suit.

This may surprise someone like you who thinks about everything in terms of race, but race has nothing to do with it.

The norm is set by law abiding citizens who have little to no contact with the police. How police treat criminals or rioters simply doesn't affect us much. We obey curfews, avoid protests, pay our taxes, expect that police keep criminals away from our homes, and otherwise just want to be left alone.

[mtrueman]

"This may surprise someone like you who thinks about everything in terms of race, but race has nothing to do with it."

You misunderstand me. I agree with you that this isn't about race. The police target those most unable to defend themselves, ie the lower classes, if you'll excuse the expression. The lower classes are the easiest places to go to make sure our prison cells are not going to waste. The lower classes have the fewest resources to protect themselves. It just so happens that the black population is and has always been over represented in this sector. America's long history of victimizing blacks is only icing on the cake.

[NOYB2]

You misunderstand me. I agree with you that this isn’t about race. The police target those most unable to defend themselves, ie the lower classes, if you’ll excuse the expression. The lower classes are the easiest places to go to make sure our prison cells are not going to waste.

That's like saying that "obesity targets the lower classes"; it ascribes intent to something that isn't based on intent. On top of that, you're committing a base rate fallacy.

Certain personality traits cause some subpopulation of humans both to end up in "the lower classes" and to end up in prison. But only a small percentage of "the lower classes" has those traits.

Police simply operate and arrest where the crime is, in particular the most destructive form of crime: violent crime.

[mtrueman]

Obesity doesn't have agency. Obesity doesn't respond to incentives. Police do. It's vital you understand the difference.

[mtrueman]

"civil asset forfeiture"

What on earth does that have to do with brutal police treatment? Were the 75 year old man's civil assets forfeited? No.

[Unicorn Abattoir]

Come back after the police take all of your material possessions, then we'll see if you consider it brutal treatment.

[mtrueman]

Eric Garner was choked to death for the crime of selling individual cigarettes. His material possessions were not part of the calculus in the decision to kill him. The notion that asset forfeiture played a role is ridiculous.

[Unicorn Abattoir]

Interesting. There's nothing about Garner in Inigo's original post, or your reply to him. I guess addressing what I actually said would be too difficult for you.

[SQRLSY One]

Agreed, Unicorn Abattoir!

In addition, the abuse of people by cops DOES include violations of property rights! AKA asset siesures. It's all part of the same ball of wax.

This fiction that "we aren't punishing you, we're merely punishing your property" is crap that we've heard from all the way up, over the years, all the way to include the SCROTUS! My favorite power fantasy is to imprison stupid judges and other officials who will-nilly grab our properties all day, and hand them a glass of water and a sandwich in jail... And then immediately snatch it all back away from them, and explain, "We aren't punishing you, we're merely punishing your property"!, till they nearly starve and thirst to death! Maybe THEN they'll understand the simple concept of, he who controls your property, controls your life! AKA, property = life!

[mtrueman]

The notion that civil asset seizure played a role in the treatment of the 75 year old, Garner, Floyd or any number of other cases I could name is ridiculous.

[Unicorn Abattoir]

Again failing to address my actual statement.

[mtrueman]

The police haven't taken my property so it is difficult to respond. Why don' t you instead tell us more about the time when the police seized your property?

[Unicorn Abattoir]

The police haven't choked you to death, like they did Eric Garner. Why is it not difficult for you to respond?

[Jury Nullification]

"His material possessions were not part of the calculus in the decision to kill him."

Yeah, because it had nothing to do with his un-taxed monies from the fruits of his labor? Must have been about second hand smoke.

[mtrueman]

The game is not worth the candle. Had Garner been selling untaxed Ferraris, which were subsequently seized by the police, you'd have a point. Killing him for a handful of cigarettes makes no sense.

[Agammamon]

His health isn't an asset?

[mtrueman]

Not valuable enough to matter to a police department. Same with a handful of untaxed cigarettes.

[Enquirer]

The media reports I’ve seen don’t mention that elderly man’s race, so even without the benefit of having seen the video, I would have assumed he was white.

[RobertWorth]

Good point. Only violence against the poor, oppressed blacks is worth being upset about.

True justice only involves increasing police brutality towards whites (and hispanics and asians) until all their levels is up to that of the blacks. It doesn't matter that those groups commit much less violent crimes than blacks.

[mtrueman]

" It doesn’t matter that those groups commit much less violent crimes than blacks."

Give them time. Every day it's getting easier for comfortable white people to do crimes.

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

Looks like one cop actually starts to bend down to help the old guy, and his buddy pulls him away. I wonder what lessons those two cops will learn.

[scape]

That is, literally, the joke line at Hit and Run: "Move along, nothing to see here."

"yeah, but that's an seventy year old guy we just arm-bared, maybe we should check - I SAID KEEP MOVING, SOLDIER!

[Jeb Kerman]

And this is why there are no good cops.

[Formerly Cynical Asshole]

... one cop actually starts to bend down to help the old guy, and his buddy pulls him away.

If you watch carefully you'll notice the one who started to bend down was the one who shoved him. My guess is that he's a less experienced cop who still had some small amount of a guilty conscience/ shame over what he had just done. He'll get over that soon enough.

[ThomasD]

Mainly because he will be the lone scapegoat who gets to go find another line of work.

That was a group effort and should be charged as such.

[BigGiveNotBigGov]

A horrendous and brutal attack, and in some ways it is a broader and worse indictment of police than the Floyd murder that ignited these protests.

[WC46]

Qualified immunity needs to be history. There's a case being heard at the U.S. Supreme Court. Let's hope the justices do the right thing and end that horrible shield for police brutality and abuse of the citizens WHO PAY THEIR SALARIES.

[Geraje Guzba]

You really think THIS case, of all cases, would be a candidate for qualified immunity?

Seriously?

[Jeb Kerman]

The DA will find some loophole and if he won't a judge will. I may take 3 years but at the very least, an appellate judge will find these cops innocent of all charges so the union can sue for their back pay and re-instatement.

The police union, half the judges, 90% of the DAs, Bernie and Antifa are all on the same side.

[God]

Bullshit. Do you actually want to solve this problem of police brutality and impunity or do you want to play these fucking games?

[NOYB2]

Let’s hope the justices do the right thing and end that horrible shield for police brutality and abuse of the citizens WHO PAY THEIR SALARIES.

The citizens who pay their salaries have the option of reforming police department every few years, simply by voting in different local politicians. In particular, voters can privatize police, ending all QI. I don't see much appetite for that in most jurisdictions.

[BigT]

Old White Lives Matter!!

Not.

[Unicorn Abattoir]

Cuomo's nursing home edict disproves that statement.

[BigT]

Miss the ‘not’ did you?

[Unicorn Abattoir]

Dammit!

[Longtobefree]

Root cause analysis: The root cause of the incident is the curfew. The alleged possible victim was violating an executive dictate based on a round number picked from thin air by an elected official.
Corrective action: An election.

[Jerry B.]

But the curfew was ordered by a Democrat, so it can't be bad.

[Juice]

Corrective action: An election

LOLOL

[Mike Drop]

You sound like John Roberts.

[m1shu]

Cops are getting tired and need relief. Order still needs to be restored. Where's it going to come from libertarians? Twitter?

[Jerry B.]

Armed citizens protecting their property? Or do the protester's 1st Amendment rights extend to burning my store?

[Earth Skeptic]

Store burning is speech.

Please try to keep up.

[Jeb Kerman]

Who's order?

I'm not for the rioting but the police need to be relieved, permanently.

Support your local Sheriff. Ban police and end the FBI.

[Juice]

Support your local Sheriff.

Even if it's Joe Arpaio.

[Mike Drop]

"Cops are getting tired and need relief"

So quit.

[NOYB2]

They already did. That's why police are now hiring Walmart stockers and college dropouts. And it's just going to get worse.

[Formerly Cynical Asshole]

Cops are getting tired and need relief.

Then perhaps they should back home and crawl under their bed where it's safe.

[JFree]

You WANT me on that line. You NEED me on that line.

[NSK]

Here's a thought. There's a curfew. Follow the law. Go home. Instead yell at the police while breaking the law. Sorry. Not feeling that bad for this guy.

[Jeb Kerman]

There is no legal curfew.

Government has no just authority to limit peaceful people per the founding document of this nation.

Period.

This is tyranny. Note, the cops pushed the guy and then moved on to illegally assault the reporter. I think there are at least 2 more cops need to be arrested and put down for this.

[Mike Drop]

I'm not property. Fuck your curfew slaver.

[NOYB2]

There is no legal curfew.

It's legal until either a court or the legislature strikes it down. Until then, police can enforce it. The idea that cops should be punished for enforcing laws or regulations based on your personal views of legality is utterly absurd.

[Formerly Cynical Asshole]

Here's a thought. Fuck off, slaver.

[ThomasD]

I find it entirely conceivable that Antifa rioters, or other bad actors, would concoct and test methods for disrupting police phalanx, including 'send doddering grandma/grandpa to the front.'

But that still would not excuse the police grossly mishandling, or harming the otherwise harmless old fart. Their actions were unnecessary and excessive and caused harm. That is the fundamental defintion of a criminal act.

Cops are supposed to not commit crimes.

[R Mac]

Even if it’s a real law, that’s not how police are supposed to enforce laws.

[Unicorn Abattoir]

I see you find comfort in the chains placed upon you.

[NOYB2]

No, we merely find comfort in resolving differences at the ballot box rather than through riots and violence.

[cgr2727]

Sheep. I hope someone eats your lamb chops.

[I, Woodchipper]

Here’s a thought. There’s a curfew. Follow the law. Go home. Instead yell at the police while breaking the law. Sorry. Not feeling that bad for this guy.

bootlick much?

[Agammamon]

The video is taken in the middle of the fucking day.

[Mickey Rat]

"Later Thursday night, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown tweeted that he was "deeply disturbed by the video, as was Buffalo Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood."

Who was responsible for the curfew order?

When you pass a law or executive order enforceable by law you are authorizing law enforcement to use violence to compel compliance with that rule. Mayor Lockwood should consider his own complicity in this incident.

[Mickey Rat]

Mayo Brown

[Jeb Kerman]

And we should never let him forget.

https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/civil-rights/federal-civil-rights-statutes#:~:text=Title%2018%2C%20U.S.C.%2C%20Section%20241%20%2D%20Conspiracy%20Against%20Rights&text=It%20further%20makes%20it%20unlawful,of%20any%20rights%20so%20secured.

[God]

The federal govt should be prosecuting these cops if it's shown they fabricated the incident report but then again William Barr should be prosecuted for attacking those protesters and then the lying through his teeth about it. Barr was using govt property and offices to perpetrate his lies and fraud. It sounds like a criminal conspiracy to me.

[Juice]

Is this the ONLY incident that got discipline for the cops who injured someone? By everyone focusing on this one incident, it makes it seem rare, which it's not by a long shot.

[ThomasD]

"By everyone focusing on this one incident, it makes it seem rare, which it’s not by a long shot."

No, it gets attention for the same reason that a serial killer goes to trial - because it's the one case with good evidence.

[mapol]

What recently happened in Buffalo, NY that resulted in a 75 year old man being seriously injured goes to show that nobody, regardless of age, color or ethnicity, is immune to being the victim of police brutality.

[ThomasD]

This. If they will do it to fragile old white guy they will do it to anyone.

The shoves were excessive and criminal, but spontaneous. The lies, being deliberate and considered, were even worse.

[Echospinner]

Good job Thomas D.

We all saw it. There is no excuse.

[Fist of Etiquette]

It appears he was attempting to return police equipment to them.

[Formerly Cynical Asshole]

The Buffalo Police Department initially issued a press release saying that "one protester was injured when he tripped and fell."

Tripped and fell? Really!? That's the bullshit they're going with? Even when they're caught on video assaulting an old man they still can't bring themselves to tell the truth.

[loki]

It's the same thing they say when someone asks about their wives.

[ThomasD]

Mayor needs to fire every cop present who did not correct the 'tripped and fell" lie.

[Earth Skeptic]

And then fire himself.

[ThomasD]

Well, yeah, since we are starting a wish list might as well think big.

[R Mac]

Wondering what happened to most of the comments from last night?

[Brandybuck]

As one of my (ex) friends would say, "His White Privilege is on display". Which is why he's no longer my friend.

He said this about a different incident, where a white family was attacked by the police for not showing immediate and unquestioning deference. But it's the exact same attitude.

[Benitacanova]

The guy probably thought his white privilege would protect him from the cops. As if.

[BigT]

He needs the grey panthers to back him up.

[Rob Misek]

You’d think by 75 he’d have learned what happened when you impede a line of advancing police.

Civil disobedience isn’t a game with rules that allow crime if you’re black or a self proclaimed demonstrator, with the police impotently doing nothing to restore justice.

If that’s the society you want, get used to barricades, boarded windows and curfews.

[Jury Nullification]

The cops are just batting cleaning up on all of the old people Gov. Cuomo could not kill with Covid. NY needs to cut the cost of elder care and tax estates. Budgets don't balance themselves.

[Eddy]

If the behavior of the police was justified, why did they claim he just tripped?

[Truthteller1]

To be honest it was more trip than shove.

[Hank Phillips]

Boss Trump could sew up re-election with an EO doing away with all drug and asset forfeiture laws. Those are the primo mechanism whereby God's Own Prohibitionists shake down, jail and shoot mainly the duskier individuals. The economy tanking on ANOTHER republican administration is going to look to voters less like coincidence and more like a lesson in induction and statistical inference. Congress can override it just before the elections by rollcall vote.

[NOYB2]

Those are the primo mechanism whereby God’s Own Prohibitionists shake down, jail and shoot mainly the duskier individuals.

"Duskier individuals" are shaken down primarily by Democrats in Democratic jurisdictions.

[Curly4]

I will say up front that there has been lot of talk about defunding police departments. This I agree with to some degree. Those police departments such as Minneapolis with George Floyd and NYC with Freddy Gray and not the Buffalo with that 74 year old they deliberate knocked down and injured all be cause these person were black should be defunded because of what we as citizens of this nation are getting for our money. Instead of police service and protection we are getting uncalled for death of our citizens. Death not because the person was committing some heinous crime but the crime of being black. Those departments need to be defunded untill all in the position of authority and should have rooted out these people with this mindset that as a police the can't held accountable for their crimes.
But I must point out with a question why have these people been returned to the power position they had when they knew such action has been happening for well over a decade. For instance in Minneapolis in about the last decade the police have had about 28 cases of knee on neck and it is still happening. The chief of police said in a news comments knee on neck was not authorized in the department. Yet that same knee on neck has been used about 28 times in the last decade or so. The police chief should have made sure that it had been stopped and the persons who were using that move should not be working as police in the state again. If the police chief did not do it then the district attorney should have. When the district attorney did not the mayor should have or the state Att General or the Governor if those under them had not done that. But all these responsible person did not do their job and the voters continued to vote directly or indirect for them putting them in office. All these persons are democrats and the state is majority democrats and the black community is vast majority democrat yet the black community continued to vote these irresponsible person back in office to continue their irresponsible ways. Never have they voted for someone other than a democrat under whom the black community have suffered most. The same thing holds for NYC and Freddy Gray.

[Rob Misek]

The other 28 times where the knee on the neck didn’t kill anyone it was considered a successful detainment.

How does defunding maintain law enforcement while eliminating corruption?

[Agammamon]

Same way that 'universal healthcare' will make healthcare 'affordable' by reducing prices once you cut all the corruption out of the healthcare sector, Rob.

Once you cut the inefficiency then, by definition, you'll get the same level of service at a lower cost.

[Rob Misek]

Except it doesn’t work like that.

Unless you’re prepared to reduce service arbitrarily, before cuts can be made, the amount of available excess capacity needs to be quantified.

There is excess capacity everywhere, probably in your job too.

A proper time study could save your company money by making all your coworkers busier as you kick your lunch pail down the street.

[emmanuel]

I'm sure that if the old man (TV says he's 70, just like me, while this article says 75; which is it?) hadn't been wearing a mask and suffering from hypoxia and hypercapnia, he probably wouldn't have fallen.
As for shoving him... wasn't he violating curfew orders? What were the words that were said to the police?

[Hank Phillips]

I'd be interesting to see what kind of fines, damages and asset-forfeiture the Kleptocracy manages to scrape off of the dupes gulled into rushing cops and setting fires. Forfeiture goes into local graft, pelf and boodle, not victim restitution. And insurance adjustors will spread their arms and say "my hands are tied."

[TrickyVic (old school)]

""The Buffalo Police Department initially issued a press release saying that "one protester was injured when he tripped and fell."""

Tripped and fell.
I wonder how many times that was said about their wives?

[BigGiveNotBigGov]

I think that we can now completely discount the "Only a few bad apples" canard:

"According to multiple reports, all 57 members of the Buffalo Police Department's Emergency Response Team have resigned from the team as a show of support for the two officers who were suspended last night."

https://twitter.com/WBFO/status/1268984006110064641

The abuse issue is a systemic, perhaps the, issue of modern American policing.

[Rob Misek]

The man advanced on police and the police gently pushed him back. Only his feeble ass couldn’t remain on his feet.

What’s next? Old ladies in wheelchairs looting?

It’s public stupidity not police stupidity.

[259ec53]

I think you are close to the reality of it.

[Butler T. Reynolds]

When idiots collide.

[Mr. JD]

I'm gonna be the contrarian in the room and say that that was a whole lot less aggressive than I expected it to be. Imagine if we demonized every "protestor" who pushed someone like that.

[smalleyd]

How long before Reason bothers to mention David Dorn or all the other officers who have been attacked trying to rein in the violence to maybe provide a modicum of balance? And I wonder who these folks would turn to if these riots made their way to their neighborhoods?

Yay! Defund Police!

[drisco304]

If you can't stand the heat get back in the kitchen.

[259ec53]

Video doesn't lie. You believe that? I have shot documentaries for 50 years. I saw the man not complying, talking at cops, possibly hassling them. More shoes to drop ......

[Beatles]

Amazing that cops, who come from the lower and lower middle classes, abuse and humiliate those also from the middle and lower classes. How to turn around this mentality...and fast?

[drisco304]

Reason in print is interesting and basically libertarian. Reason on-line is basically leftist and boring. Are you sure you people want to sacrifice your uniqueness in order to run with the herd?

[mtrueman]

"and the man is in the hospital."

In hospital is preferable. I'm visiting the hospital. I work at the hospital. I'm delivering equipment to the hospital. If you're admitted as a patient: I'm in hospital. No 'the' is necessary.

Prisons and schools are similar. Students go to school. Not the school. Prisoners go to jail. Not the jail.

[BigGiveNotBigGov]

"The Three Levels of Corruption in the Buffalo Police Assault Video

What we have here is a perfect distillation of the three levels of corruption that exist in law enforcement.

The first is the violence of the police themselves. In this incident they are in total control of the situation. I can count 28 law enforcement officers, all of them wearing armor of some sort and carrying weapons.

They are approached by an unarmed 75-year-old man. It is unreasonable for any of the officers in this situation to have felt as though they were in clear and present danger. But if they had felt threatened, they could have restrained him.

Instead, they assault him, shoving him backward violently. Go back and watch the video again. Listen to the sound the man’s head makes at the 0:06 mark when it hits the ground. Look at the blood coming out of his ear. Watch how motionless his body is.

The second level of corruption comes in the reaction of the officers who did not shove the old man. None of them rush to his side. None of them confront the perpetrators of the assault. ... in the immediate aftermath of police misconduct, a large number of officers working in a coordinated manner to cover it up and witnesses to the misconduct being detained for no discernible reason.

Which brings us to the third level of corruption: The press release.

With the benefit of time to react, the Buffalo police department portrayed this assault as a mere accident resulting from a “skirmish” in which a civilian “tripped & fell.”

This is a two-part outright lie being fed to the public the police department is supposed to serve."

https://thebulwark.com/newsletter-issue/the-three-levels-of-corruption-in-the-buffalo-police-assault-video/

This attack on the helpless elderly man is a much more important and illustrative example of the broad, coordinated, and corrupt abuses of police than is the Floyd murder. All 57 officers of that unit aided and are now supporting the two that attacked Martin Gugino and their department and supervisors tried to cover-up the attack. Police abuse is not an issue of individual bad cops, but of pervasive corruption and hubris.

[Enquirer]

If you see a herd of stampeding horses, you don’t stand in front of it. Even the daredevils in Pamplona have enough good sense to run from the danger.

I don’t believe that that police officer realized that the man was so frail that pushing him out of the way would have such drastic consequences.

[bigfoot1939]

"The man made a judgment to stay out after the curfew because he feels that our civil liberties are so in danger, which they most certainly are.”

This from his representative.

When you have violated legal instructions and the Policie have been instructed to clear the area and send people away what do you think will happen.

You can't cure stupid. This "protestor" is at fault, period. I stand with the officers.

[259ec53]

They merit support now - more than ever.

[259ec53]

Here's your "poor old man." His name is Martin Gugino and he is a long-time a-c-t-i-v-i-s-t. https://nypost.com/2020/06/05/martin-gugino-buffalo-man-pushed-by-police-is-long-time-activist/

[Scott Free2016]

And he had a little bag of fake blood in his hand with a tube leading up to his ear!

FAKE!

[259ec53]

As you are well-aware, there is a deep split evident in the comments. I'd guess you come down on the "Cops are irredeemably bad" side? Then there are folks like me who are more cautious. Wouldn't it be a shame if minority neighborhoods saw less police protection? That could happen in these fraught times.

[Rob Misek]

“He’s a gentle person who really believes that he must stand up for what he thinks is right,”

Too bad he didn’t.

[Brubaker]

It was a poor decision to confront an advancing phalanx of police officers in riot gear. The "victim" obviously felt that his self-righteous anger would serve as armor against the consequences of his foolish action. He was wrong.

[259ec53]

Agree

[Truthteller1]

I wish the guy had not fallen, but I've got little sympathy for him. He was asking for trouble, and he got it. More of a trip than a shove anyway.

[Ali Song]

Move on from this garbage ... why not focus on the 100,000 of black letters who have done 100 of millions of dollars of damage ? Cops pushing a old man , WTF is that about ?

[Spooner]

Oh god 100,000 people are not destroying property. It's a very small minority of the people out on the streets. Many of the protestors actively try and stop property damage from happening.

The looters and rioters were getting away with it because the cops aren't trying to stop them. The cops are too busy shoving old men, shooting wheelchair bound homeless folks in the head with rubber bullets, drive-by macing peaceful protestors who are just standing there, beating up reporters and cameramen (hell, in New York the NYPD gave out NYPD Press Badges that immunized the bearer from curfew, but that didn't stop the cops from attacking from attacking them).

Why? Because cops are cowards and it's easier to pick on the weak. Also, letting the looters run amok has the bonus of making useful idiots out of people like yourself.

[BigGiveNotBigGov]

The two goons that cracked the old-timer's head on the concrete have been identified, arrested, and arraigned:

Buffalo Cops Who Shoved Elderly Man Charged With Second-Degree Assault

https://www.thedailybeast.com/buffalo-cops-who-shoved-martin-gugino-are-charged-with-second-degree-assault

[Rob Misek]

When police are ordered to clear the streets and citizens refuse to, what are police expected to do, negotiate?

“ 57 members of Buffalo police riot response team resign after shoving incident”

That’s honour. I hope they are all supported by their union.

[Rob Misek]

The mayor orders them to clear the streets then throws them under the bus when they do.

[BigGiveNotBigGov]

"'57 members of Buffalo police riot response team resign after shoving incident'

That’s honour. I hope they are all supported by their union."

That's complicity, corruption, and when done during this civil unrest extortion against citizens. Street gang type gang loyalty and responses.

[Rob Misek]

You’re ok with a store owner shooting a looter but not a police force clearing the streets to prevent it.

That’s messed up.

[Echospinner]

Police are very much expected to negotiate and act with reasonable caution.

We all saw this.

[Rob Misek]

An honest negotiation requires the willingness to compromise on both sides.

When police are ordered to clear the streets, that’s non negotiable.

[mtrueman]

"that’s non negotiable."

But looting is?

[Rob Misek]

The fact that looting is a crime is not negotiable.

[CopBlaster]

Their names are Robert McCabe and Aaron Torgalski. They were both charged with assault this morning.

[CopBlaster]

You can protest Robert McCabe at this location https://copblaster.com/blast/25765/woodlynne-police-officer-ryan-dubiel-suspended-for-attacking-black-man

[Cloudbuster]

The trick of highlighting an unrepresentative single incident to drum up outrage gets old.

[Cloudbuster]

It's no wonder the profession continues to attract a lower and lower quality of officer. Only a goon or a madman would think the power is worth the potential for having your life ruined.