Police in New York punished for cruelty to protesters: Trump saw this as a conspiracy

On June 4, about 20 protesters rallied against the murder of African-American George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at Niagara Square in Buffalo, New York. During the rally, a man was injured, policemen were accused of excessive use of force, writes with the BBC. President Donald Trump spoke in their defense, calling the scene a conspiracy.

The video that appeared on social networks shows that a gray-haired man is rapidly moving towards a walking policeman in uniform and obviously trying to argue with them. He is pushed into the chest, after which he abruptly steps back, stumbles, falls backward, hits the back of the head and lies motionless, while the policemen pass by.

Later it turned out that the victim’s name is Martin Gugino, he is 75 years old, he constantly lives in Buffalo and regularly attends various protests. After the incident, he went to the hospital for medical help. The video shows that he is bleeding from under the back of his head.

“At the moment, Mr. Gugino's condition is serious, but stable. He is conscious and oriented in space, ”said his lawyer Kelly Sarkone.

Police charged

Two Buffalo police officers are charged with intentional bodily harm. In response to this reaction from the authorities, all employees of the unit of the accused resigned.

During a virtual court hearing on June 5, Aaron Torgalski and Robert McCabe pleaded not guilty and were released under an obligation to appear in court on July 20.

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State Governor Andrew Cuomo said that Torgalski and McCabe need to be kicked out of the police, and according to the results of the investigation, they may be prosecuted.

All 57 employees of the quick reaction detachment, in which Torglaski and McCabe served, filed dismissal reports in protest. They left a particular unit, and not generally from the police service.

“Our position is that these officers were following the order of Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia to clear the area. They were just doing their job. I don't know what kind of physical contact took place. I'm guessing the man slipped and fell on his back, ”said John Evans, chairman of the local police union.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown issued a statement: “We are taking the necessary steps to keep the police services running smoothly and to ensure public safety in our city.”

Later, their charges were clarified to a second-degree assault.

Erie County Attorney John Flynn said: "Two defendants who are Buffalo police officers pushed a protester, causing him to fall and hit his head on the sidewalk," writes with the BBC.

He emphasized that he was not taking sides in a high-profile case.

“We're on the same team here. We work every day to keep our streets safe, to keep our communities safe. I work with law enforcement every day to do this. And when I have to indict one of my teammates in court, it doesn't make things easier, ”Flynn said.

Trump Conspiracy Theory

US President Donald Trump, commenting on the situation, put forward a conspiracy theory. The 75-year-old protester caught in the video fell "harder than he was pushed" and had links with the ultra-left Antifa, he said.

On his Twitter, the president shared a link to One America News Network's slow-motion close-up of the incident, where a voice-over reveals the victim's possible ties to Antifa, which Trump wants to recognize as an internal terrorist organization.

The report states that the incident in which 75-year-old protester Martin Gugino was pushed by police “could have been the result of a provocation under the flag of the extreme leftist group Antifa.

Trump tweeted: “A Buffalo protester who was pushed by the police could have been an Antifa provocateur. Martin Gugino, 75, was pushed after apparently scanning police communications to silence equipment. ”

The president added that he agrees with at least part of what was shown in the video on the network to which he refers: "He fell harder than he was pushed." And at the end of the tweet he asked the question: "Perhaps this is a setup?"