The video shows an older man walking up to Buffalo police officers in Niagara Square at a protest not unlike those that have gripped cities for the last week. 

The man appears to be trying to speak with officers, he gesticulates with hands. An officer appears to shove the man, who then falls backwards on his head. He lays the ground motionless, a pool of blood forming under his head. 

What You Need To Know


  • Cuomo condemned the police.

  • The officers have since been suspended.

  • The video has since gone viral on social media amid national protests over police brutality.

The police officers involved in the incident, which has went viral over night on social media, have been suspended. Late Thursday evening Gov. Andrew Cuomo condemned the incident in a statement. 

"The incident in Buffalo is wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful," Cuomo said in the statement. "I've spoken with City of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and we agree that the officers involved should be immediately suspended. Police officers must enforce - NOT ABUSE - the law."

Cuomo at his daily briefings has sought to distinguish between peaceful protesters and those causing property damage and stealing from stores. He's largely praised the work of rank-and-file police officers, and reacted testily when asked on Thursday about videos in New York City of officers shown hitting protesters after curfew with batons. 

In an interview earlier on Thursday with WAMC radio, said demonstrators should not be victims of brutality themselves. 

"The protestors are truthful in their righteous indignation, and they have the right to protest, and they should not be abused, and there should not be undue force, and they shouldn't get hit with a baton for no reason, and, by the way, no self-respecting cop would defend any of that," he said.