As the two Buffalo police officers were charged with felony assault after they were caught on camera shoving an elderly protester on the ground, around 250 people gathered in their support. The majority of them were fellow police officers and firefighters, who gathered outside the Erie County Court on Saturday as the two officers were being arraigned on felony assault charges.
Aaron Torgalski and Robert McCabe, officers in the Emergency Response Team (ERT) were charged with second-degree assault, on Saturday. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the arraignment was held virtually before Judge Craig Hannah. The officers were physically present in the Erie County District Attorney's Office inside the Erie County Court. Hence, their supporters gathered around the county court after gathering at first, at the Buffalo city courthouse.
People Come in Support of Buffalo Police
The arraignment comes in relation to Thursday's protest at Niagara Square in which 75-year-old Martin Gugino was seriously injured. He fell on his back after an officer pushed him and blood was seen pooling around his head. The officer came near him and said something before another officer pulled him away. Gugino laid motionless as officers swiftly walked away.
The clip was widely shared on social media, garnering intense outcry. A day after the assault, Torgalski and McCabe were suspended without pay. Around 57 ERT officers resigned in support of their colleagues on Friday.
On Saturday, aware of the media's presence, the supporters of the two officers tried to shield them from the cameras. They used umbrellas and blankets for the purpose. They held signs, one of which read: "Support the people that protect all people". As the officers exited the courthouse after being charged, the crowd cheered and clapped in support.
Gugino Is an Agitator: Brown
At a press conference on Saturday, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said that he understood that the people who gathered outside the courthouse in support of the two officers were upset with him. He urged the Buffalo police department "to think about the oath they took when they were sworn in as police officers and think about what they promised to do to protect" the community, The Buffalo News reported.
The Buffalo city mayor Byron Brown has called Gugino, an "agitator" who was trying to "spark up the crowd of people" and had been asked "numerous" times to leave the protest area. He has made it clear that he will not fire the two officers before the investigation concludes.
