Buffalo cops dispute mass resignation was in solidarity with suspended officers who shoved elderly man: report

In an exclusive report with WKBW, two police officers who were part the Buffalo Police Department’s Emergency Response Team disputed reports that all of the officers resigned in support of two of the colleagues who were suspended and may face criminal charges for shoving a peaceful 75-year-old protester to the ground where he was severely injured.

The two officers, who asked that their names not be used, claimed "a Buffalo Police Benevolent Association’s statement asserting all 57 officers resigned from ERT in a 'show of support' with the two officers that were suspended without pay is not true."

WKBW reports that one officer stated, "I don’t understand why the union said it’s a thing of solidarity. I think it sends the wrong message that ‘we’re backing our own’ and that’s not the case."

According to the second officer, "We quit because our union said [they] aren’t legally backing us anymore. So why would we stand on a line for the City with no legal backing if something [were to] happen? Has nothing to do with us supporting.”

A third officer weighed in, saying, "Some of them probably resigned because they support the officer. But, for many of us, that’s not true. The City, DA Flynn, they’re not representing those guys at all. They have to find their own lawyers, they have to come out of pocket.”

You can read more here.