Photo: WBFO/Twitter
Two Buffalo police officerswho were suspended afterpushing an elderly protestorin 2020, causing him to fall andsuffer a fractured concussion and a fractured skull, were cleared of wrongdoing last Friday.
Arbitrator Jeffrey M. Selchick wrote in a 41-page ruling that officers Robert McCabe and Aaron Torgalski did not violate the department’s use of force policies during the incident involving 75-year-oldMartin Gugino.
Gugino tumbled backwards and hit his head during the June 4, 2020, racial injustice protest in Niagara Square in downtown Buffalo. A local news video of the incident went viral and fueled widespread criticism of the police department.
Gugino spent nearly four weeks in the hospital.
In his findings released on Friday, Selchick wrote that there was no “persuasive evidence” that the officers “sought to push Gugino to the ground,” Selchick wrote. “Gugino, after the force was applied to him, appears to have not been able to keep his balance for reasons that might well have had as much to do with the fact that he was holding objects in each hand or his advanced age.”
Selchick said officers used “absolutely legitimate use of physical force” because Gugino ignored their orders.
Martin Gugino (right).Bill Jacobson
The officers were suspended after the incident and charged with second-degree assault.
An Erie County grand jury dismissed the charges on Feb. 12, 2021.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
“This private mediation should not be confused with an independent, transparent and public court proceeding,” she added. “The arbitration was held in a closed boardroom. The arbitrator has an extensive history of ruling on behalf of on-duty police officers even where, like here, there is video evidence of wrongdoing.”
Gugino declined to participate in the arbitration hearing, Selchick wrote.
The city and police commissioner didn’t return PEOPLE’s calls for comment.
source: people.com
