A 75-year-old man who was knocked to the ground in a confrontation with police during a Buffalo protest over the death of a man in police custody in Minneapolis has suffered a brain injury, according to his lawyer.
Attorney Kelly Zarcone said her client, activist Martin Gugino, "is starting physical therapy" without apparently specifying the injury.
"As heartbreaking as it is, his brain is injured and he is well aware of that now," Zarcone said in a statement.
Gugino, who is involved with the Western New York Peace Center and Latin American Solidarity Committee, according to WNBC in New York, was injured Thursday during a protest at Buffalo City Hall which was being held after the city’s 8 p.m. emergency curfew.
The protest was one of numerous demonstrations and riots that have followed the death of a black man, George Floyd, after being arrested for using a $20 counterfeit bill at a grocery store.
A video of the incident with a white police officer restraining Floyd face down with his knee on Floyd’s neck has sparked cries of systemic racism in law enforcement.
A widely circulated video of the Buffalo incident shows Gugino approach officers then stumble and fall after being pushed back. Two Buffalo officers were suspended without pay and charged with second-degree assault.
They have pleaded innocent and were released without bail. Fifty-seven members of the Buffalo Police Department's Emergency Response team quit the task force in solidarity with their colleagues.
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