2 Buffalo police officers suspended without pay after shoving older protester, now hospitalized

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/WBFO)

last updated 5 June 2020

Police out to enforce curfew in Buffalo, New York, shoved an older man Thursday evening, causing him to fall backward and audibly hit his head on the pavement, Buffalo NPR affiliate WBFO reports. Blood ran from the man's head as he lay motionless, and the cops who pushed him glanced down and walked on. The unidentified man, treated by two medics, was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and is in stable condition, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz tweeted Thursday night.

A spokesman for the Buffalo Police Department issued a statement Thursday night saying that during a "skirmish invoking protesters, one person was injured when he tripped and fell." It isn't clear if the spokesman had seen the video, but Buffalo Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood later said the two officers involved have been suspended without pay, and a full Internal Affairs investigation has been launched.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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