A 75-year-old protester was injured Thursday night after being pushed by police as officers cleared Niagara Square as the citywide curfew went into effect.
Following the incident, which drew swift national attention after video of it was viewed millions of times, the Buffalo Police Department suspended two officers without pay and began an Internal Affairs investigation, according to a police official and a department spokesman.
The incident came several hours after a standoff between demonstrators and police in tactical gear ended peacefully in Niagara Square after dozens of protesters blocked the street in front of City Hall.
Four people were seen taken into police custody during that encounter.
Shortly after 8 p.m., a demonstrator was injured as police in tactical gear advanced to clear protesters in front of City Hall.
As police advanced, the man approached the police. He fell to the ground and appeared to suffer a head injury after he was pushed by officers, as seen in video captured by WBFO:
Just about an hour ago, police officers shove man in Niagara Square to the ground (WARNING: Graphic). Video from: @MikeDesmondWBFO pic.twitter.com/JBKQLvzfET
— WBFO (@WBFO) June 5, 2020
"It sickens me," Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said of the video in a tweet late Thursday.
"This incident is wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Twitter. "Police officers must enforce – NOT ABUSE – the law," Cuomo said in a tweet.
“The video was deeply disturbing and the actions taken were wrong," Senator Chuck Schumer said in a statement. "We need a prompt investigation and full accountability."
The man was in serious but stable condition at Erie County Medical Center, Mayor Byron Brown said in a written statement.
By 11 p.m., less than two hours after it was posted, WBFO's video had been viewed more than 11.5 million times on Twitter.
State Attorney General Letitia James tweeted that her office had been made aware of the video.
In a statement issued late Thursday, the mayor said he was "deeply disturbed" by the video. He called the event "disheartening."
"I hope to continue to build on the progress we have achieved as we work together to address racial injustice and inequity in the City of Buffalo. My thoughts are with the victim tonight," Brown said.
Earlier in the night, Michael DeGeorge, a spokesman for Brown and the Buffalo Police Department, said in an initial statement emailed to reporters at 8:50 p.m. that the man “tripped and fell” during a “skirmish involving protestors.” WBFO posted the video a short time later, in which officers could clearly be seen pushing the protester as they advanced.
Police confirmed about two hours later that they had suspended the officers and had begun an investigation.
The four people arrested during the afternoon standoff were charged with disorderly conduct for blocking traffic in the square, according to the police spokesman.
Throughout the day, demonstrators gathered in the square, as many had in recent days following the May 25 death of a Minneapolis man at the hands of police.
At about 4:40 p.m., a crowd of protesters stood in the middle of the street in the square in front of City Hall, blocking vehicular traffic from passing.
Police in tactical gear arrived within a few minutes and formed a line in front of the protesters. Police told the crowd the assembly had been deemed unlawful and that if they didn’t disperse, officers would use force to remove them.
Police in gas masks and armed with some type of dispersal agent also responded to the scene. A police helicopter circled overhead.
After a little more than a half hour, the crowd exited the street onto the sidewalk in front of City Hall.
Police stood by for about 15 minutes before leaving the immediate area.
Just before 8 p.m., there were about two dozen protesters still gathered in front of City Hall. Most dispersed when the police in tactical gear arrived.
Police took a protester into custody as they cleared the square.
Protesters have been demonstrating in Niagara Square since Saturday to protest the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Minneapolis man, who died after a violent arrest in which a police officer pressed Floyd to the pavement with his knee on Floyd’s neck.
Watch how the situation unfolded in Niagara Square on Thursday afternoon:
Protesters have blocked traffic in Niagara Swuare https://t.co/mGHbTQ6yHW
— Aaron Besecker (@AaronBesecker) June 4, 2020
Niagara Square https://t.co/fivaNu2LqP
— Aaron Besecker (@AaronBesecker) June 4, 2020
This is how the scene played out Thursday night after the city's 8 p.m. curfew went into effect:
Live at demonstration at Niagara Square just after curfew went into effect https://t.co/dfRXAqhb4N
— Aaron Besecker (@AaronBesecker) June 5, 2020
At about the 8:08 mark of the video is when the protester was injured.
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