Lawyers representing a 75-year-old protester who was thrown to the ground by New York State police during demonstrations that broke out days after George Floyd’s death filed a widely awaited lawsuit in federal court on Monday, less than two weeks after the criminal charges against the officers involved were dismissed.
The US District Court action for the Western District of New York alleges that the city of Buffalo, Mayor Byron Brown, Police Commissioner Byron C. Lockwood and Police Deputy Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia violated the rights of the longtime activist Martin Gugino decreed a “unconstitutional” one-week “draconian” curfew at 8 pm that “was selectively applied against peaceful protesters”.
CHICAGO POLICE RIPPED ABOUT GEORGE FLOYD UNREST RESPONSES BY SCANNING NEW WATCHDOG REPORT
He also accuses Buffalo police officers Robert McCabe, Aaron Torgalski and John Losi of using “illegal and unnecessary force” against Gugino by the city “pushing him without warning, in violation of his clearly established constitutional rights guaranteed by the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. “Gugino was unconscious and lying on the sidewalk with” blood dripping from his skull fracture, “according to court documents.
The 55-page lawsuit seeks economic, non-economic and punitive damages after a grand jury refused to indict McCabe and Torgalski for criminal assault. Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said he didn’t necessarily think the altercation captured by the camera reached the level of crime, but state law required prosecutors to file such an accusation when the victim was at least 65 and the alleged perpetrators were at least 10 years younger.
On June 4, 2020, the Buffalo Police Department deployed a 57-member militarized force called an “emergency response team” to disperse three people, one of whom was Gugino, sitting on the steps of the city hall.
The video recorded by a local news team went viral at the height of protests against George Floyd across the country, showing the team marching in formation towards three people sitting in the stress of Buffalo City Hall, shouting, “Go ahead, march. ”
Minutes after the 8 pm curfew, Gugino got up from the stairs and walked towards the police, when the team with tactical equipment shouted in chorus: “Push it, push it”, according to the process. Losi pushed McCabe and Torgalski towards Gugino.
They pushed Gugino to the ground by force, according to the lawsuit. He then tripped and fell backwards. Members of the emergency response team walked by Gugino while he was unconscious on the floor, according to the lawsuit.
BUFFALO POLICE SEEN SHOWING ELDERLY PROTESTER DROPPED FEES
“Gugino was a victim of police brutality just as he was peacefully and constitutionally protesting police brutality,” said one of his lawyers, Richard Weisbeck, in a statement. “If the roles were reversed and Gugino pushed a BPD officer who then fractured his skull, he would have been immediately indicted, and for good reason.”
Gugino was transported to Erie County Medical Center after suffering a concussion and fracturing his skull. He was initially treated in the intensive care unit and was discharged four weeks later, on June 30.
The suit cited a statement released by the Buffalo Police Department immediately after the incident, which states that someone “tripped and fell” outside City Hall. The mayor issued a statement saying that someone who was involved in “physical strife” was “brought down”.
McCabe and Torgalski were suspended without pay and arrested a few days after the incident. They pleaded not guilty and were released without bail pending further developments.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION
The Buffalo Benevolent Police Association has repeatedly argued that the police have done nothing wrong but impose a curfew. All 57 members of the emergency response team resigned from their posts, which police union president John Evans publicly declared to be “to support the two suspended and disgusted policemen at how the government is handling the entire incident” says the process.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.