Two police officers in Buffalo, New York, have been suspended without pay after they were caught on camera shoving a 75-year-old protester, causing him to fall and knock his head to the ground.
The incident occurred shortly after the city’s 8 p.m. curfew on Thursday, NBC affiliate WGRZ reported. Journalists from Spectrum News Buffalo and WBFO were reporting in Niagara Square as they witnessed officers lining up to push back protesters who were out calling for police accountability and racial justice following the death of George Floyd. One of their videos shows the elderly man calmly approaching the officers, appearing to ask them a question, but the officers pushed the man back.
The shove caused the protester, who has not been identified, to lose his balance and fall back, hitting his head on the concrete. The man appeared to have been knocked unconscious and blood flowed out of one of his ears.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown says the victim is in stable but serious condition.
“I was deeply disturbed by the video as was Buffalo Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood. He directed an immediate investigation into the matter, and the two officers have been suspended without pay,” Brown said.
Source: nbcnewyork.com
