Bingo...at some point, these cops have to realize that they are there to serve and protect their fellow man.
Completely agree. I wasn't troubled by the video. More by the officer who pushed him, and then wanted to check on him being pushed away.
Buffalo mayor called this guy an agitator, which he appears to be, on the video. No cops will be fired. Direct your outrage here! As I said before, it's very unfortunate, but these cops did nothing wrong. You're asked to do something by the law, you do it. This is worlds away from gassing peaceful protestors, despite some wanting to couple them together. And as a full disclosure, I live about an hour away from Buffalo. And their mayor is black, so I'm sure he's on the protesters side in general. And while I don't follow their city-wide politics very closely, Buffalo is in a low-key revival. They're doing pretty well. I fully support that man as mayor.
My point of view is that the cops were ordered to clear the area and yelled audible warnings that they were advancing. The old man decided to confront the shorter cop on the front line to the left. That cop tried to speak with the man. The taller cop to the right of the video pushed the elderly man at the same time their CO ran up and put his hand on the shorter cop's back. The shorter cop did shove but not with the force of the taller cop. After the man fell, you can see the shorter cop bend down to check on him until the CO pulls the cop up and keep the line moving. The shorter cop had clear remorse. All three cops should have been reprimanded. Grading who was worse, I'd say the taller cop deserves the harshest punishment, the CO next and the shorter cop the least. As for the riot squad resigning, I understand their position. They are told to clear the area with force if necessary. If they don't, they are disciplined. If they use force, the public outcry gets them disciplined. Reform starts from the top with leadership and policy changes.
Two Buffalo police officers were charged with assault Saturday, prosecutors said, after a video showed them shoving a protester in recent demonstrations over the death of George Floyd in Minnesota. Both pleaded not guilty to second-degree assault. They were released without bail.
Sure. The inability to have empathy is a real problem and you're showing why right here. This is a frail old man who was pushed down and seriously injured by cops. Trying to find out why you shouldn't feel bad about that situation is the lack of empathy rearing it's head.
I dont’t think the officers should have been charged. I think they should be retrained on how to react in this type of situation. Most elderly people have balance problems. It doesn’t take much for them to hit the ground. I know this because my own parents have balance issues and have both fallen multiple times. The police need to take this into consideration when dealing with older folks. So, the officers in this incident could have done a better job in my opinion. I don’t believe the officers should have been charged with assault. The old guy was out of line by trying to make contact with the cops. You can’t do that no matter what your age is. The cops did not push the old guy with much force at all. But, like I said, it doesn’t take much to knock old people off balance. I say let’s not make a mountain out of a mole hill. If every cop gets charged with assault every time they give someone a small push when someone gets too close, then there are going to be a lot of officers charged with assault every single day. People can’t approach an officer and put their hands on them without the officer reacting in some way. Retrain the officer on how to deal with elderly people and move on.
Why anybody would defend the actions of the cops in this case is beyond me. Was the elderly gentleman posing a threat? No. So why did he end up on the ground bleeding from his head? We literally have it all on video and STILL it’s not enough for some folks. If this week and a half of riots and protests doesn’t result in some sweeping changes, then there’s something ****ing wrong with our country. Ever since I started working in China I’ve tried my best to explain to people here how awesome America is, because a Chinese person who grew up under the CCP may not even have a clue about the freedoms that we take for granted. But these past few months have got me questioning why I’m so quick to defend the good of’ US of A at all. Of course I still think we’re best country in the world. No matter what happens I think I’ll have that sentiment embedded in me (because I’ve been brainwashed to believe it since I was a kid). But more and more I’m starting to think that America kind of sucks right now. Especially if you’re a minority. Especially especially if you’re black. No matter what injustices happen to you, and no matter what proof you have, there are still people defending your oppressors as if black lives mattering will lead to their world crumbling or something...
pro·por·tion·al·i·ty /prəˌpôrSHəˈnalədē/ noun the quality of corresponding in size or amount to something else.
Agitator? Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown addressed Thursday's incident in a press conference on Friday afternoon, saying that Gugino was an agitator who was trying to rile up the crowd and was asked to leave the area "numerous" times. "What we were informed of is that that individual was an agitator. He was trying to spark up the crowd of people. Those people were there into the darkness. Our concern is when it gets dark, there is a potential for violence," Brown said. "There has been vandalism, there have been fires set, there have been stores broken into and looted. According to what was reported to me, that individual was a key major instigator of people engaging in those activities," he added. Brown's statement came after 57 officers on the Emergency Response Team resigned from their positions in support of their two colleagues who were suspended without pay after the video showed them pushing and injuring Gugino. https://twitter.com/martingugino
Absolutely not an empathy problem. I stated I felt bad for both parties, and that is was a bad situation for both parties. You want to talk empathy? I work with people going through the worst moments of their lives every day. I show empathy on a daily basis in a field that is tougher than most could or would want to handle. My people look to me as someone who they can rely on during their tough times. I do, however, believe in justice. I never condoned this pushing of the old man. But I don't support him agitating police officers in a tough time. You've seen the videos out there of what's going on, and you know how terrible it is (I'm talking about the old man seeing these), so why would you go out passed curfew, and walk towards a wall of cops, shouting who knows what? People need to learn not to inject themselves in these situations. That's kind of what I'm speaking to here. As I've said before, I fully support the protests, and I think they are great. I was quite possibly the first person on this board to ask @rocketsjudoka if he was worried about riots in Minnesota, though. I know people. I do not support rioters. Especially when they don't support the cause. I'm glad of the protests. Injustice amongst our African American brothers needs to be addressed. A lot of people like me (meaning white people) simply ignore what they have gone through. They are ignorant to practices that hold them down. They don't stop and wonder why every city has a ghetto that is populated by a decent percentage of African Americans. They just choose to believe it's because they won't help themselves. In reality, it's more like they CAN'T. The thing I'm speaking on here is outrage culture, though, mostly. I'm sick of everybody wanting to be outraged over everything. A black man is murdered in the street by a cop for no reason? That is something the entire world can and (I'm so glad for this) was. A young black front line working woman murdered by the cops for no reason at all? Most people hadnt even heard of this until George Floyd. We SHOULD all be outraged by that. That could have been anyone. That's just two cases in the last three months. We should be terribly outraged. But we should not be outraged by an elderly man injecting himself into a post curfew wall of police. It's unfortunate. It's very unfortunate. I hope the guy is okay. I'm outraged that a cop was turned away from trying to help the guy. There should have been fifty police officers helping the guy within ten seconds. It's a little outrageous that there wasn't. But we should not be outraged that he was pushed and stumbled. Just 90 miles down the interstate, a week ago, a young white girl was sitting on her haunches, in peaceful protest on the street, with her hands over her face, and a cop walked up and kicked her in the head. Where was the outrage on that? The mayor of that town said it will be investigated, but she was asked to move. They are investigating, but the officer is unaffected at this time..
So, did this guy fake this or not? He’s in the hospital, so I’m thinking he has some kind of injury. But, maybe he’s complaining of being dizzy, so they are just keeping him in the hospital. The last thing we need is people faking an injury. That just makes people doubt all injuries.
He also had doctors who moon light as antifuhrs to send out "in critical but stable condition" ? This 75 year old might be greater than Keyzer Soze or Cristian0 Ronaldo.
