Outraged artists and activists took to social media on Thursday (June 4) to demand swift action after a video emerged of officers from the Buffalo Police Department shoving an unarmed 75-year-old man to the ground, causing his head to bleed.
“To every single cop in this video that walked by that poor man bleeding out of his head after he was OBVIOUSLY pushed, WHY ARE YOU A COP???!!!!! To all the great cops out there, CALL THESE SORRY EXCUSE FOR HUMANS OUT!!” wrote Kelly Clarkson in a series of tweets in which she was reacting to a report that a Buffalo Police Department spokesperson in which he claimed, “during that skirmish involving protestors, one person was injured when he tripped and fell.”
In the video, two helmeted officers in riot gear can clearly be seen pushing the man in the chest with their hand and batons, causing him to stumble backwards and hit his head on the pavement. Kacey Musgraves was similarly incensed, tweeting that she’d called the Buffalo PD to demand the firing of the officer seen pushing the man and then not helping him after he was injured. Similarly, MC Hammer re-posted the video and wrote, “Take your helmet off and help the MAN!!!!”
Others weighing in on the incident include Ice-T and Zedd, with LL Cool J writing, “THIS IS WHAT HE THINKS LAW & ORDER LOOKS LIKE” in an apparent reference to Pres. Trump’s claim that what the nation needs right now is “law and order.” According to NBC News, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said the two officers who shoved the man have been suspended without pay. The man, who has not been identified, is reported to be in serious but stable condition at a local hospital. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the footage of the incident “wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful.”
See the tweets below (warning: tweets contain videos depicting violence).
