Two police officers in Buffalo, New York, have been suspended without pay after a video showed police shoving an older man who stumbled backwards and hit his head on the ground. The video, captured by NPR member station WBFO, shows the man bleeding from his head onto the pavement.
The incident occurred on Thursday at the end of a protest in Niagara Square, according to CBS affiliate WIVB. The man was eventually taken away from the scene by an ambulance. A source told WIVB that the man who fell in the video suffered from a laceration and a possible concussion, but is in stable condition.
Warning: The video in the below tweet contains graphic language and content.
Buffalo Police Department Captain Jeff Rinaldo told CBS News later Thursday night that “the Police Commissioner has immediately suspended two officers without pay in connection with the incident observed in the video.” Rinaldo said the department has launched an internal affairs investigation.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown tweeted on Thursday night that he is “deeply disturbed” by the video, and that the elderly man remains in “stable but serious condition” at the Erie County Medical Center Hospital.
“Tonight, after a physical altercation between two separate groups of protesters participating in an illegal demonstration beyond the curfew, two Buffalo Police officers knocked down a 75-year-old man. … After days of peaceful protests and several meetings between myself, Police leadership and members of the community, tonight’s event is disheartening,” Brown said in the statement. “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.”
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also weighed in on the video, tweeting that “this incident is wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful.”
He said he and Mayor Brown agreed that “the officers involved should be immediately suspended pending a formal investigation.”
“Police officers must enforce — NOT ABUSE — the law,” he added. New York Attorney General Letitia James has also said that she is also aware of the incident.
David Begnaud contributed reporting.
