Charges dropped against Buffalo police who shoved 75-year-old protester to the ground

Criminal charges have been dropped against two police officers seen on video last spring shoving a 75-year-old protester to the ground in Buffalo, New York, prosecutors said Thursday.

A grand jury declined to indict the Buffalo officers Robert McCabe and Aaron Torgalski on felony assault charges, ending the matter, said John Flynn, the Erie County district attorney.

Messages seeking comment were left with lawyers representing the officers. One of them, Thomas Burton, has previously said that it was a “real stretch in our view to suggest that they intended to hurt this man”.

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Flynn said prosecutors made a thorough presentation to the grand jury but, citing secrecy rules, said he couldn’t discuss what evidence was presented. The grand jury heard the case on a delayed basis because of coronavirus-related court closures, he said.

“This was not the JFK assassination,” Flynn said. “This was not that complex of a case. The video that was taken speaks for itself.”

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Video shows police in New York state shoving 75-year-old to ground

The case concerned the longtime activist Martin Gugino, who was shoved by officers clearing an area of the city from demonstrators protesting the police killing of George Floyd last June. New cameras covering the protests captured the incident on video, which subsequently went viral and sparked widespread outrage.

Gugino, pushed backward, started bleeding after hitting his head on the pavement. He spent about a month in the hospital with a fractured skull and brain injury.

In an interview with the Guardian last June, a fellow activist described Gugino as committed to non-violence and a follower of the Catholic Worker movement, a group that advances peace and justice.

McCabe and Torgalski were suspended without pay and subsequently arrested. They pleaded not guilty and were released without bail pending further developments in the case.

A message seeking comment on the grand jury’s decision was left with Gugino’s lawyer.

The Associated Press contributed reporting