75-year-old protester pushed in Buffalo

[alisawhite123]

Martin Gugino, the 75-year-old man who fell to the ground after being pushed by Buffalo police officers last week, sustained a brain injury related to the incident, according to his attorney.
Gugino, of Amherst, New York, had been in serious but stable condition before his condition was upgraded to fair earlier this week. He was moved to Erie County Medical Center’s rehabilitation floor.
On Thursday, his lawyer, Kelly Zarcone, said Gugino’s brain is injured and he has started physical therapy.
“Martin is a soft spoken but thoughtful and principled man, ” Zarcone said in an emailed statement. “As heartbreaking as it is, his brain is injured and he is well aware of that now. ”“He feels encouraged and uplifted by the outpouring of support which he has received from so many people all over the globe. It helps, ” Zarcone’s statement continued. “He is looking forward to healing and determining what his 'new normal' might look like. ”
Gugino was one of several dozen individuals standing in front of Buffalo City Hall at about 8: 10 p. m. on June 4, after a peaceful protest held in the area had dispersed. In a bystander video, Gugino can be seen approaching a group of police, and within seconds, he was shoved backward. He stumbled and fell back, his head whacking the sidewalk. Blood could be seen running from his ear and pooling near his head as police called emergency personnel.
The incident stirred a powerful reaction from citizens across Buffalo and the nation, and within days, two Buffalo police officers had been charged with second-degree assault, a felony.
President Donald Trump tweeted about the incident on Tuesday, theorizing that Gugino
could be an "antifa provocateur" and that the whole interaction could have been a setup.
Gugino is a longtime activist and has taken up a variety of causes, including prisoner rights.
“He’s the victim of police brutality, ” said Keith Giles, program director at Peace Catalyst International, a nonprofit based in Houston, Texas, and a longtime friend of Gugino’s.