*In the wake of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo calling for the arrest of those two Buffalo, NY policemen who injured an elderly protestor, they have been charged.
The officers, unofficially identified as Aaron Torgalski and Robert McCabe, were charged with assault Saturday, according to prosecutors, reports the AP.
The action was taken not only at the behest of Gov. Cuomo, but also after a viral video showed them shoving a 75-year-old protester in recent demonstrations over the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.
Both Torgalski and McCabe pleaded not guilty to second-degree assault. They were released without bail.
Earlier, as we reported, the officers had suspended without pay Friday after a TV crew captured the confrontation the night before near the end of protests.
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The footage shows a man identified as Martin Gugino approaching a line of helmeted officers holding batons as they clear demonstrators from Niagara Square around the time of an 8pm curfew.
Two officers push Gugino backward, and he hits his head on the pavement. Blood spills as officers walk past. One officer leans down to check on the injured man before another officer urges the colleague to keep walking.
What’s also distressing to a number of folks is that fact almost all of the officers stepped down from the department’s crowd control unit Friday, in response to the suspensions Torgalski and McCabe.
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