Martin Gugino: Charges dropped against US officers who pushed protester

Criminal charges have been dropped against two policemen filmed knocking a 75-year-old protester to the ground in New York last year, prosecutors say.

A grand jury declined to indict Buffalo officers Robert McCabe and Aaron Torgalski on assault charges.

The officers were seen on video last June shoving activist Martin Gugino, who fell over and started bleeding.

He spent about a month in the hospital with a fractured skull and brain injury.

The incident drew national outrage at the height of protests over the police killing of black man George Floyd in Minneapolis last year.

The episode in Buffalo was filmed outside the town hall of the city, where Mr Torgalski and Mr McCabe were enforcing a curfew that was imposed because of the protests.

The officers, both members of the Emergency Response Team of Buffalo Police, were suspended without pay after footage of the incident went viral.

Fifty-seven of their colleagues - the entire unit - later resigned from the team in response to the suspensions of the officers.

Prosecutors charged the officers with assault last June, accusing them of pushing "a protestor outside of City Hall, causing him to fall and hit his head on the sidewalk".

Both officers pleaded not guilty and were released without bail.

On Thursday, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said a grand jury had dismissed the case.

A grand jury is set up by a prosecutor to determine whether there is enough evidence to pursue a prosecution. In legal terms, it determines whether probable cause exists to believe a crime has been committed.

Mr Flynn said he could not reveal why this conclusion had been reached by the grand jury, which held proceedings in secret.

"As with all cases, since that date of arrest, an investigation continued and was pursued," Mr Flynn said at a news conference on Thursday. "There was a felony charge and, therefore, it was a matter that was going to go to the grand jury. Let's be clear here, OK? This really wasn't a complex case."

"The video that was taken speaks for itself," Mr Flynn added.

The Buffalo Police Benevolent Association said it was pleased with the grand jury's decision.

"As we have stated all along, Officers McCabe and Torgalski were simply following departmental procedures and the directives of their superiors to clear Niagara Square despite working under extremely challenging circumstances," the union said.