The entire Buffalo Police Emergency Response Team has resigned from their special unit positions!!!

[dixiegrrrrl]

Just now on twitter........ .

Link to tweet

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. What exactly does that mean?

Are any of those people among the ones that were present when the 75 year old man was shoved?

[Ms. Toad]

3. It is a show of support for the two officers suspended for shoving the 75 year old man.

We’re told this is a show of support for the officers who are suspended without pay after shoving 75-year-old Martin Gugino.

https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/buffalo/entire-bpd-emergency-response-team-resigns-in-support-of-suspended-officers/#:~:text=(WIVB)%E2%80%93News%204%20has,but%20no%20longer%20on%20ERT.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

6. Oh, my. Exactly the opposite of what I had hoped.

On the up side, maybe the entire police force will resign in such a show of support, making everyone in Buffalo much safer now.

[Delphinus]

28. Glad you asked,

because my hope was as yours.

[totodeinhere]

103. Me too. I had hoped it meant that they resigned in protest over police brutality. n/t

[2naSalit]

40. So, a temper tantrum. Got it.

We need to figure out a different way to deal with how people choose to behave.

[mitch96]

46. I guess they won't like it when their bonus pay for being on the unit goes away also.... nt

[2naSalit]

47. What if...

and it's a dark what if...

These assholes have been or soon will be recruited by erik prince? I think a bunch of that half a trillion $$ went into his pocket for nefarious objectives to come.

[mitch96]

54. "These assholes have been or soon will be recruited by erik prince?"

You have me thinking that those "unmarked police" at the white house were erik princes guys..
m

[2naSalit]

71. That was my first thought

when I saw the pictures. I've been wondering when they would show up.

[wnylib]

83. I think your concerns are quite valid,

unfortunately.

I think they believed that their resignations would be leverage to force the city to reconsider the suspension of the two cops. Does not sound likely. I am listening to Buffalo's NPR station, WBFO. They have covered the response from Gov. Cuomo, Buffalo's Mayor Brown, and the police commissioner so I don't remember which one said this, "It's unfortunate that they made thst choice."

In other words, no fuss, no backing down, no negotiations.

Just now heard them say that a live mayor's press conference will be covered tonight. Did not hear a time for it.

[wnylib]

89. PS. Just heard that the mayor's presser

Will be in 15 minutes at 5:45.

[2naSalit]

102. Cry wolf/temper tantrum used to work for them...

They have no leverage anymore so they will, at some point, find a way to use violence against us in retaliation.

[wnylib]

111. i listened to the Buffalo mayor's

press conference this afternoon. A little backstory is needed for context..

Last weekend, Buffalo protests turned to riots. Outside agitators were identified and arrested. A curfew was set and things calmed down until Monday night, when an SUV mowed down 1 city cop and 2 state cops. All were injured, but one cop has a broken leg and a crushed pelvis. Responsible party was arrested.

The riot and running over cops were NOT the work of protestors. Buffalo is a very blue city. But there are a lot of RW extremists in rural areas and some suburbs outside the city. There are also some racial supremacy militias in nearby rural areas. This is not official from anyone, but I suspect the RW racists were behind the riots and running over the cops.

So cops have been on edge. During today's press conference, Mayor Brown opened with assurances that there is enough police coverage to maintain order after the 57 cops resigned from the response team. They will protect the protesters' free speech rights as well as the rest of the city.

The pushing incident occurred after curfew and was caught on camera by NPR's .
news team. The police commissioner immediately ordered the suspension of the cops and opened an investigation for due process.

Mayor Brown reported that there had been some tension and scuffles before curfew. Some of the people temained after curfew. Police wanted them out before things escalated. The 75 year old man, Martin Gugino, is a long time peace and civil rights activist in the area. He approached the police to discuss the tensions at hand, but it was past curfew and police had given several warnings to everyone to leave and started moving them away.

I recently looked at the video. They clearly gave Gugino a hard shove. Then they milled around ignoring him as he lay bleeding on the ground.

This is not official but my hunches are:

1) Cops overreacted to Gugino because of the tension of the moment, with a group already trying to start a fight. They wanted people out of there. This was similar to the cicumstances when the 3 cops were run over so cops were edgy.

2) Gugino's activism was known. Cops might have believed that protestors were behind the riots last weekend and the SUV attack on cops. They might have seen Gugino as someone to take it out on.

Brown has pushed for the police commissioner to speed up his internal investigation. The rest of the response team feels like the police brass and mayor are not backing them up after they have been attacked.

Tensions are still high. Agitators are gleeful.

[Blue_true]

64. I would accept every resignation and replace them. nt

[Lonestarblue]

82. I think they only resigned from the special unit, not the police force.

[Blue_true]

85. I would fire them. Anyone that did or witnessed what was done

and was not sickened by it should not police people at all.

[rockfordfile]

106. I agree

[cab67]

97. fine, then. bye.

They shouldn't be in law enforcement.

[still_one]

2. If they are doing it because it of solidarity with police brutality, then good riddance

[AntiFascist]

34. Exactly, now there's an opportunity to replace them with better trained police...

if they even need that many within this unit.

[SharonAnn]

60. Reagan didn't even put up with a strike from Air Traffic Controllers.

Do the same thing here. They're out of the position and hire people with better training and judgment.

[still_one]

115. +++

[redstatebluegirl]

4. Poor babies, they are not going to allowed to act like storm troopers any longer.

Not surprised their union is standing behind them. They will love working at a fast food place.

[2naSalit]

50. Don't bet too heavily on that.

What of they show up as members of the unmarked army?

[Mike 03]

5. Here is a little bit more explanation

Link to tweet

?s=20

TEXT: “Fifty-seven resigned in disgust because of the treatment of two of their members, who were simply executing orders,” said John Evans, PBA president.

This is a developing story: https://www.investigativepost.org/2020/06/05/pol

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

8. Oh, yes, the "I was just following orders" excuse.

And I suppose they actually had specific orders to shove the elderly.

[dalton99a]

10. And lie about it.

[Arkansas Granny]

26. But, "he tripped and fell", doncha know.

[Hortensis]

48. One day the SS came to a German village and told the police chief

his ordinary small-town police force had a special assignment -- to go to a place where hundreds of people of all ages, from babies on up, were being held and execute them and bury them in trenches.

The chief refused but gathered his men together and told them they must decide for themselves whether to obey. They committed genocide as ordered, though a few ran away into the woods once it started.

After the war, they were studied to find out why ordinary country police did it, just practically out of nowhere. The overwhelming explanation was that when someone could have stepped forward and said no, no one did. So they all just stood there in solidarity and loyalty to their group. If the others were going to go through with this, they'd stand with them.

[Bradshaw3]

53. Great post n/t

[ananda]

95. Good Nazis all.

nt

[EffieBlack]

12. Too bad they're not as disgusted by their breathren's treatment of the citizen they swore to protect

[panader0]

87. Damn Effie, I haven't seen you here for a while. You good?

[EffieBlack]

112. Hey, there!

I’m good. How are you?

[panader0]

116. I'm good too. I just noticed a while back that I hadn't seen you around.

I always enjoyed your posts and respected your opinions.

[EffieBlack]

117. Thanks

My tolerance for arguing with unseen strangers online is very low these days so I’ve been focusing on real life.

[GulfCoast66]

121. Good to hear from you.

[ace3csusm]

22. So they admit their NAzis

IS that what Nazis said during the Nuremberg trials...

[2naSalit]

43. The "too big to fail" strategy?

[Nevilledog]

38. So....a Reverse Nuremberg defense?

We followed unlawful orders and we're proud of it?

[octoberlib]

41. The Nazi excuse. Cops are the biggest snowflakes.

[relayerbob]

70. Riiiiigghhhhht. Orders

[wryter2000]

77. I didn't see anyone order that

Looked pretty spontaneous to me, but if they want to share that information, I'm sure we'd all like to learn.

[enki23]

91. Okay. Doesn't matter. Fire them, and *definkitely* fucking fire the ones who gave the orders.

[BigmanPigman]

94. I think they resigned because the union would no longer pay their legal fees.

They got caught doing what they have always done but now the money will have to come out of their own pockets if they get caught on video next time or the next....

[chia]

7. Good riddance

[SoCalDem]

16. Amen

I hope they stay resigned..maybe they can hire some decent ones to replace them

[dalton99a]

9. Who ordered them to shove a 75-year-old man and lie about it?

[chia]

13. +1,000

[Mike 03]

25. That's what I want to know, exactly.

[crickets]

42. Oh, you with your fancy logic. nt

👍

[SKKY]

45. Right?!

[chia]

11. Wait... it was only formed in 2016? That's interesting

[ismnotwasm]

14. Cop culture runs deep

One one hand they have to have proper tools and authority to do their job, on the other, they seem pretty fucking selective as too when to use deescalation vs violence.

If cops resign it’s an excellent time to review how when and why to use certain tactics with fresh faces

[ace3csusm]

15. I would too

How can anyone defend what happened, where is their decency...THe captain should be arrested, plus they lied on the report...

[lunatica]

33. They resigned because they're defending the cops who shoved the elderly man.

[ace3csusm]

36. now they should be fired from the department

they just resigned from task force...

[lunatica]

37. I agree!

Something has to be done. Fire them. Racists can’t be trained to protect Americans. Period.

[ace3csusm]

51. Forget the Racists Part

Theses are straight bad men to do that to a 75 year man is just inhumane...

[Pantagruel]

17. Great!

Plenty of work for them in DC where Trump is forming his own version of the SS.

[The Magistrate]

18. Good Riddance To Bad Rubbish, Ma'am

Saves the trouble of firing them, and unlike the firing they deserve, an accepted resignation cannot be contested later in court. Nor will they qualify for unemployment.

It is to be hoped the city has the sense not to hire these shit-birds back for anything even vaguely in the policing line....

[Salviati]

30. Indeed. If they want to support a lying piece of shit, then we're better off without them.

[dalton99a]

31. They are not resigning from the police department - only from their membership on that team.

[scarletwoman]

73. Statement from their Union head:

"Our position is these officers were simply following orders from Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia to clear the square," said Buffalo Police Benevolent Association President John Evans. "It doesn't specify clear the square of men, 50 and under or 15 to 40. They were simply doing their job. I don't know how much contact was made. He did slip in my estimation. He fell backwards."

(my bold)

Read more: https://buffalonews.com/2020/06/05/57-members-of-buffalo-police-riot-response-team-resign/

[wnylib]

92. But those who view the video say

that it is clear that he was pushed.

I have not seen the video so I can't comment on that. But there is a back story that makes it possible that the push was deliberate. Mr. Gugino has been an activist for civil rights locally. The 2 cops might have recognized him.

To make it worse, when he was on the ground bleeding, cops walked past without offering to help and without checking on him.

[scarletwoman]

93. Of course the man was pushed. The cops are lying, as usual.

[backscatter712]

123. Ve vere just followink orders, mein Fuhrer!

Disgusting that they would try the Nuremburg Defense.

[The Magistrate]

110. Half-Ass To The End, Then

Not a drop of manhood to the pack of them.

[mobeau69]

19. Fuck the special unit. Why not resign from the department?

nt

[ace3csusm]

29. Good Point

They should be fired from the department they just should everyone they are not capable to know from right and wrong...

[crickets]

49. Exactly. They've kept their jobs and paychecks, just caused a big stink

and deprived the community of their emergency response team. What absolute nonsense on their part.


eta - Fortunately, Mayor Brown is unruffled:

“The City of Buffalo is aware of developments related to the work assignments of certain members of the Buffalo police force. At this time, we can confirm that contingency plans are in place to maintain police services and ensure public safety within our community. The Buffalo police continue to actively work with the New York State Police and other cooperating agencies.”

I do wish he could just fire them.

[Nasruddin]

76. Time for a Reagan maneuver

Order them back to work - then fire them.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

20. I guess they'll show us by...not walking around menacing people on the street?

How will we ever carry on?

[Squinch]

21. Seen on twitter: "But now who will we call when we need to crack the head of a

peaceful 75 year old protester?"

[WhiskeyGrinder]

23. And so like...which one of these are the bad apples? It's so hard to keep up.

[Jim__]

24. So I assume there are some openings in the Buffalo Police Department.

Hopefully they can recruit some responsible adults.

[Blue_true]

88. As someone pointed out to me, those idiots didn't turn in their badges.

So they still have jobs, unfortunately.

[ibegurpard]

27. Just a few bad apples

Right?

[Celerity]

39. no shit. I am SO fucking sick of see that rot tossed out there. It is the opposite. There are a few

good apples, and the rest are either do-nothings (against the bad ones) or the bad ones doing evil.

[The Polack MSgt]

32. They didn't resign from the force

Just from the special tactics squad.

Which, is just a circle jerk cluster of Dudebro Nazis assembled to beat on people and to shoot 1st when executing no knock warrants

[irisblue]

35. White Supremacists in Police Depts.

Link to tweet

[2naSalit]

44. They'll soon be, if not already, recruited by mr prince.

[Solly Mack]

52. There is no integrity in the blue of wall of silence

And there is nothing virtuous about their actions now.

You cover for a bad cop, you are a bad cop.

You rationalize your abusive behavior by claiming you were only following orders, you're a coward as well as a bad cop.

Thinking your collective abusive and violent behavior is the only thing between violent chaos and a civilized society is a lie you tell yourself to justify your criminal actions.

You bring the violent chaos when you engage in violent, abusive behavior.

A POS in blue is still a POS.

[tblue37]

55. Snowflake feelings are fragile. nt

[TeamPooka]

56. Good, clear out all the bad cops at once.

[Me.]

59. They're Not Gone

Just off that detail

[demmiblue]

57. Fuck these people. But it is probably for the best since they don't seem to...

have minds of their own in order to execute moral/ethical judgements when it is needed the most.

[Me.]

58. Wait Till Cuomo Gets Involved & Hello Laetitia

Cuomo expressed his disgust today

[KY_EnviroGuy]

61. One possible factor just occurred to me is....

city managers where these incidents occur do not want a perceived stain on their town as it can affect revenue from visitors and potential business prospects. So, they make a head-fake announcement for the press knowing it will disappear from public attention fairly quickly.

In today's world, it's all about the money.......

[Alex4Martinez]

62. How about cover, legal cover and distancing from the tragic brutal behavior.

Your honor, I was so disgusted that I quit the squad!

[soothsayer]

63. Good. These units should be protecting the protesters

Not confronting them. Walk with them and prevent trouble. How hard is that?

[spanone]

65. Good, they all kept walking past the man on the ground.

You know, the man they swore to protect and serve????

[underpants]

66. How the? What the? They think THEY are being treated unfairly

That’s just mind blowing. How the hell did these guys go home and face their families after that?


BTW - a post on Facebook I ran into had several blaming the old guy. Shouldn’t have been there. Was yelling at them. Paid to take a dive.

[Dukkha]

67. I'd be handing out a big sack of "BYE FELICIAS!"

Time for a great purge from all the police forces of thugs who place bro loyalty above OBEYING THE FUCKING LAW!

Want unemployment? Too fucking bad pull up your bootstraps.

[Music Man]

68. Just a few bad orchards...

[lame54]

69. They are protesting for their right to push down old people

[MrsCoffee]

72. Bye Felicia.

[Cha]

74. It seems like the Special Unit doesn't need that kind

of person in their squad anyway.

Making room for officers who don't think shoving and knocking down an older man is ok.

[LiberalFighter]

75. Every expletive known in the universe.

[iluvtennis]

78. Good riddance. Hire some others who have respect for seniors. nt

[Evolve Dammit]

79. Fuck them. Find new officers who don't slam a man in his 70's to the ground bleeding from his

fucking ear. That is assault, not policing. We have so many ex-military from Iraq and Afghanistan trained to kill, in police ranks. Put that in with the inherent racism, and you got what we got.

[BlueIdaho]

80. You know what I call that?

I call that a good start.

[saidsimplesimon]

81. "for whom the bell tolls"

John Donne (1572-1631), wrote the line 'for whom the bell tolls' in Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, Meditation XVII:

"Perchance he for whom this bell tolls may be so ill, as that he knows not it tolls for him; and perchance I may think myself so much better than I am, as that they who are about me, and see my state, may have caused it to toll for me, and I know not that....

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee."

[greenjar_01]

84. Bear with me here....maybe...listen now...we don't need an Emergency Response Team

Fuck these clowns.

They should be barred overtime for 12 months.

[we can do it]

86. Buh bye.

[Mr. Ected]

90. The tragedy will be if they're hired back

This mass resignation is supposed to bring Buffalo to its knees, sans its PERT.

Wouldn't it be delicious if all of them had to find work elsewhere, and not think that they'll be offered their jobs back once people start clamoring for it?

This is a publicity stunt and it would serve them right to have it blow up in their smug little faces.

[JDC]

96. The whole barrel was bad I guess

Solidarity in support of pushing down the elderly, watching them bleed on the sidewalk as they callously walk by. F them.

[SunSeeker]

98. Fire their asses!

[Fla Dem]

99. Okay then, if they no longer want to be in a elite special force, assign them all to traffic duty.

They walk away from their duties during a critical time, it shows they have no respect for the city of Buffalo or their oath to perserve and protect.

[Johnny2X2X]

100. Fire them all!

Enough of this garbage. None are fit to serve.

[rdking647]

101. they should ride a desk for the rest of their careers

ride a desk working graveyard shits. never get another promotion.

[oasis]

104. They'll spend their spare time at a favorite bar complaining why AA mayor

Byron Brown didn't back them up.

[oasis]

114. I take that back. Mayor was on Rachel Maddow's 6/5 show spinning

his ass off trying to put the police overall reaction in a better light.

[Marrah_Goodman]

105. Let them, big f'n deal

So they don't get to go play soldier.

What those officers and every officer that walked right by the man bleeding on the ground did was UNFORGIVABLE.

[rockfordfile]

107. So that entire group admits to being a pos

[Coventina]

108. FTP & ACAB

[Blue Owl]

109. Well aren't they special... So fuckin' special...

n/t

[maxrandb]

113. Yes, I remember how all of us military officers would just resign when one bad one got canned

This shit has got to stop.

Don't accept their resignations from the task force, suspend them all without pay.

If they feel this is a "hill worth dying for" let them.

All officers that were within 100 yds of this happening, and failed to intervene, or come to his aid should be suspended without pay.

Then we need to dig into their social media.

Also, Faux News and Hate Radio should be blocked from all police break rooms and squad cars.

These folks need to listen to some Bread.

[AntiFascist]

118. Not a single one of them responded appropriately to a medical emergency...

their funding would be better spent on EMTs.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

119. Adios MoFos

[Lucinda]

120. I'd love to know if they saw the video of the assault BEFORE resigning

I'm glAD THEY ARE GONE EITHER WAY, BUT IF THE SAW WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED AND WATCHED THE STREAM OF THEIR FELLOWS WAS PAST THAT MAN ON THE GROUND THEY SHOULD ALL FACE JOB REVIEWS.


Sorry about the caps! I dont have time to retype.

[radius777]

122. this is what they do, they're not accountable

and tend to retaliate in various ways in the rare times they are held to account, as in this case.

politicians tend to be fearful of them, knowing the safety of the city/town/etc may be at risk.

until the police unions are reformed nothing will change.