Buffalo Protester Reflects On Incident With Police

We all remember the day that Martin Gugino and the City of Buffalo made national headlines. Gugino in an interview on WIVB-TV says it’s time the City of Buffalo makes positive changes. The 75-year-old attended Wednesday's protest in downtown Buffalo on police misconduct.

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Gugino, as you may remember spent weeks at ECMC with a head injury received when he was pushed to the ground by two Buffalo Police officers last June.

Gugino been protesting the death of George Floyd outside of City Hall when police began clearing the scene, due to an impending curfew.

Gugino says systemic change must happen within the Buffalo Police Department to prevent an incident similar to his from happening to someone else.

“These were not two especially bad officers, the whole system is wrong. They’re all taught to do the wrong thing. That’s the problem that needs to be fixed,” Gugino said.

Buffalo Police officers Robert McCabe and Aaron Torgalski following the incident were charged with felony assault and suspended without pay.

Gugino says Mayor Byron Brown must also be held accountable for placing a curfew that night – he says it goes against the first amendment and his right to protest.

The incident which echoed similar sentiments about police around the country was covered by the national media for days putting Buffalo in the forefront of cries for cities to move funding toward community policing, with a focus on social programs.