BUFFALO, N.Y. — An attorney for the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association said its personnel were “thrown under the bus” as an arbitrator has now cleared two police officers accused of misconduct in a 2020 protest in Niagara Square.
The controversial encounter involved a 75-year-old man — identified as Martin Gugino — who was agitating police and was injured after being pushed aside while impeding police movement. As a result, the elderly man stumbled and fell to the ground.
Officers Aaron Torgalski and Robert McCabe had originally been charged with assault in the second degree, a Class D felony, before the criminal allegations were dismissed last year, Law Officer reported.
On Friday, Torgalski and McCabe were exonerated and cleared by arbitrator Jeffrey M. Selchick, who said Gugino “was definitely not an innocent bystander” and that there was no evidence that the officers intended to injure him on June 4, 2020. He called the officers’ use of force “absolutely legitimate” in his ruling, according to WGRZ.
“Gugino, after the force was applied to him, appears to have not been able to keep his balance for reasons that might well have had as much to do with the fact that he was holding objects in each hand or his advanced age,” Selchick said in his ruling.
Video of the encounter was seen worldwide in one news broadcast after another, each painting the officers actions in a negative light. In the footage, Gugino is seen approaching officers from the Buffalo Police Department’s Emergency Response Team during a protest on June 4, 2020, after curfew.
Gugino was holding a cellphone near the steps of Buffalo City Hall when Torgalski and McCabe are seen shoving him backward. He fell to the ground and suffered a skull fracture.
All 57 members of the ERT resigned in support of the officers who were eviscerated in public condemnation afterward, Law Officer reported. The unit has since been permanently disbanded.
Selchick noted in his ruling that “Gugino may also have been surprised when the officers used force to push him away because he may have entertained the unfounded belief that the officers would let him interfere with the performance of their duties.”
Buffalo Police Benevolent Association President John Evans said he was “ecstatic” to hear the officers were cleared by the arbitrator, according to WGRZ.
“Two good cops who initially got thrown under the bus are back to the profession they love and they’re doing it with a clean slate. No criminal charges, nothing administratively. They’re ready to hit the streets and go back to work for the citizens of Buffalo,” said Thomas Burton, attorney for the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association.
Although Gugino spent several days in the hospital with a head injury, he has since recovered. The elderly rabble-rouser filed a lawsuit in 2021 against the City of Buffalo.
A spokesperson for the city would not comment on pending litigation, but said the officers are expected to return to duty next week, the news outlet reported.
Burton said while both officers look forward to returning to duty he lamented that the legal system can’t fix the damaged reputation of each officer.
