Buffalo man, activist pushed to ground by Buffalo police officer has brain injury, lawyer

The 75-year-old man who last week was pushed to the ground by a Buffalo, New York, police officer after he approached him and others in the city’s police emergency response team has a brain injury, according to his lawyer.

The lawyer, Kelly Zarcone, also said her client, activist Martin Gugino, is starting physical therapy, as a result of the injury.

“He is looking forward to healing and determining what his ‘new normal’ might look like," Zarcone also said Thursday. 

Gugino was seen in a bystander video June 3 walking in front of the tactical unit outside of Buffalo City Hall after an 8 p.m. curfew, then being pushed aside by at least one police officer, before stumbling backward and hitting his head, which began to bleed from the ear. 

Mayor Byron Brown reportedly said medics at the scene quickly gave first aid to Gugino.

The incident occurred during protests for George Floyd, who died on May 25 after an arrest by a Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. 

President Trump has suggested on Twitter, based on news reports, that Gugino is associated with the far-left extremist movement that has joined in the Floyd protests.

Gugino’s legal counsel and friends have described him as a human rights and peace activist. 

Two Buffalo officers, Robert McCabe, 32, and Aaron Torgalski, 39, were suspended without pay then charged with second-degree assault, in connection with the incident, according to the Associated Press.