Two Buffalo police officers were charged with second-degree assault, a class D felony, for pushing a 75-year-old activist. The man then tripped and fell to the ground apparently hitting his head. The man had been asked to leave the area numerous times according to Buffalo’s mayor. The officers were apparently attempting to enforce a curfew in the city.
The mayor noted,
“He was in that area, after the curfew, one of the things that happened before that incident, is that were conflicts between protesters. There was a danger of fights breaking out between protesters and the police felt it was very important to clear that scene for the safety of protesters.”
Governor Andrew Cuomo was quick to condemn the officers.
“I think there was criminal liability from what I saw on the video…What we saw was horrendous and disgusting and, I believe, illegal.”
Nothing like tainting the jury pool.
The video has gone viral around the world. It is being used to frame the idea that police in general are brutal and out of control in this country. It is being used to advance the idea that such actions by the police are routine and normal. It is buttressing the thought in some communities, Minneapolis in particular, that police need to be defunded and disbanded.
Subsequent to the arrest of the two officers, all 57 members of Buffalo’s emergency response unit resigned from that position in solidarity with their belief that the two officers are the victims of a political agenda against police officers.
Before I continue with this analysis, let me provide just a peak into my background. Over the years as part of my duties as a supervisor, I have had to review tons of video. I have reviewed video to see if things were handled correctly, to provide feedback on how to get better. I have also been tasked on many occasions to determine exactly what happened.
There were two things that I learned early in this process. First, it was important to see the entire incident. This means that to have a full appreciation of what has happened, one has to see things start, one has to see everything that transpires after the start and one has to follow all the way through to the end.
Second, watching at regular speed does not always reveal all that has happened. Some actions are subtle and not easily observed at regular speed. Slow motion can often reveal the nature of an action that appeared odd or out of place.
As always, observable facts should be the determinant in understanding what happened.
If you viewed the video above, it appeared the man was confronting the officers. The man, Martin Gugino, puts his right hand on or right in front of the first officer’s chest. This is followed by Gugino putting the same hand on or right in front of the second officer’s belt area. This caught my eye and was an odd move. Was Gugino trying to provoke the officers? Putting one’s hands on an officer in the performance his duties is a big no-no. Is this what Gugino was trying to do?
I do not believe so. It was only when I slowed the video down (to one quarter speed…see video below) that I saw what Gugino was actually trying to do. What was in his right hand was a phone. Undoubtedly what Gugino was trying to do was to “sniff” the comm frequencies the police were using.
Sundance over at CTH notes,
In this slow motion video, you will see Gugino using a phone as a capture scanner. You might have heard the term “skimming”; it’s essentially the same. Watch him use his right hand to first scan the mic of officer one (top left of chest). Then Gugino moves his hand to the communications belt of the second officer. WATCH CLOSELY:
The capture of communications signals [explained in detail here] is a method of police tracking used by Antifa to monitor the location of police. In some cases the more high tech capture software can even decipher communication encryption allowing the professional agitators to block (black-out), jam, or interfere with police communication. In addition, many police body-cams are Bluetooth-enabled which allows syncing.
Also keep in mind he is reaching into an area on the second officer where his weapon is located. I knew nothing about this man when I first started analyzing the video. Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown admitted Gugino was a professional ‘agitator’ who tried to work up the crowd and had been asked to leave the area ‘numerous’ times.
Mr. Gugino was not a peaceful protester. He has an ideology which is perhaps best expressed by the “F*** The Police” that can be found in various communications from the man as well as on his websites.
Another question. Was the whole scene staged? There is a view from across the street that shows a fall that seems staged. You can hear a crack sound as his head reaches the ground. It appears that this may have come from the motorcycle helmet in his left hand. There are zoomed photos of screen shots that suggest a staged event.
Remember he supposedly hit his head on the pavement. But, as this image shows, there is no blood on the sidewalk or the back of his head. There is also blood from the area of the ear lobe.
One last item on this. Gugino was in a place of unrest, some of it the result of his own actions. He was confronting riot police, so he ought to be held accountable for his outcome. The officers did not use deadly force, so there should be no prosecution or conviction. He may have received injuries, but those were a direct outcome of his failure to obey a lawful order, followed by non-lethal, policy sanctioned contact by the officers. They cannot be held accountable for a man of sound mind–but frail body–making a stupid decision and perhaps getting injured.
The left wants chaos. They brag about it. Like this guy has done on his websites. And once again the media is complicit in perpetrating a false narrative. Let’s stop making him out to be a martyr.
And BTW why is no one interviewing this guy?