Two Buffalo police officers have been cleared for their role in pushing and injuring a 75-year-old George Floyd protester in 2020.
The arbitrator ruled that officers Robert McCabe and Aaron Torgalski’s decision to shove Martin Gugino while walking by in riot gear did not violate the police department’s use-of-force guidelines.
“Upon review, there is no evidence to sustain any claim that Respondents (police officers) had any other viable options other than to move Gugino out of the way of their forward movement,” arbitrator Jeffrey Selchick wrote in his Friday decision.
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The two officers’ use of force was justifiable because Gugino refused to comply with orders to leave the scene, according to Selchick. The activist was also acting erratically and walked in front of McCabe, leading to the decision to shove him.
“The use of force employed by Respondents reflected no intent on their part to do more than to move Gugino away from them,” the arbitrator concluded.
The incident gained national attention when footage of Gugino’s fall went viral. McCabe and Torgalski shoved Gugino on June 4, causing him to hit his head on the ground. The 75-year-old man spent a month in the hospital due to a fractured skull and brain injury before being released on June 30.
The pair of officers were suspended after the incident and charged with second-degree assault. A grand jury declined to indict McCabe and Torgalski on Feb. 11, 2021. Gugino filed a suit against Buffalo later that month, alleging that the officers had “violated” his “constitutional rights” when they enacted a curfew and employed “unlawful and unnecessary force” against him on June 4.
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The arbitrator’s ruling has no bearing on Gugino’s lawsuit, the activist’s lawyer told the Buffalo News. “We are not aware of any case where this arbitrator has ruled against on-duty police officers, so his ruling here on behalf of the police was not only expected by us, but was certainly expected by the union and city who selected and paid him,” she said.
McCabe and Torgalski will be reinstated on Monday, according to a statement from the Buffalo police commissioner.
