Buffalo cops who pushed 75-year-old protester Martin Gugino not charged

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Aaron Torgalski and Robert McCabe were both charged with second-degree assault in the fall of Martin Gugino, which fractured his skull and prevented him from walking at the time, according to a lawyer for Gugino. They had pleaded not guilty.
The two policemen were suspended from the police force after the incident on June 4, which took place during a demonstration against racism and police brutality. They remain suspended pending the outcome of the internal affairs investigation, the department said on Thursday.

While Flynn said the grand jury proceedings were under wraps and he couldn’t divulge details, he said he went out of his way to present a strong case.

“I am 28 years old as a naval officer, and I live and breathe every day by the core values: honor, courage and commitment,” Flynn said at a press conference Thursday afternoon. “And integrity happens to be a big thing with me. And I’m setting here right now talking into each of these mics, looking at each of these cameras right here, looking each of you in the eye right now. , and I tell you that I did not put any sand. “

He continued, “I entered this grand jury, I put all the relevant evidence in this grand jury. I put several witnesses in this grand jury. I put everything that was not cumulative in this grand jury. “

CNN has reached out to Gugino’s attorney for comment.

The Buffalo Police Benevolent Association said it was “extremely pleased” with the grand jury’s decision.

“As we have always said, Constables McCabe and Torgalski were only following departmental procedures and direction from their superiors to clean up Niagara Square as they worked under extremely difficult circumstances,” the union said.

“We are grateful that the Grand Jury decided not to press charges,” Buffalo PBA president John Evans told CNN in an email. “They saw that there was no criminal intent. These officers have been put in hell. We look forward to their return to work.”

Video of the incident shows Gugino falling to the sidewalk, then his head bleeding as other officers walked past him.

Flynn insisted he did not rush to arrest the police and said he had enough probable reasons to pursue the case.

“I’m not apologizing for anything,” he told reporters. “I wouldn’t make any changes to any of my decisions going back to when this happened, OK? And yes, I’m not going to tell you that in my opinion the right thing happened here, because I believe always that a crime was committed. ”

His intention was to treat these officers the same as civilians in a similar situation, the prosecutor said.

CNN’s Jessica Prater and Theresa Waldrop contributed to this report.

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