New York State Police Tuesday morning say a Ford Explorer drove through a blockade, striking a Trooper and a Buffalo Police Officer, and running over another Trooper on the ground. Troopers on scene fired shots at the vehicle.
The vehicle was apprehended and the operator and occupants were taken into custody. While taking the operator into custody, Law enforcement observed a gunshot wound. One of the passengers had a gunshot wound, the other had no injuries. The operator and passenger with injures were taken to Erie County Medical Center for non-life threatening injures.
The Trooper who was run over was treated at ECMC for a shattered pelvis and a broken leg. The other Trooper and Buffalo Police Officer were treated for minor injuries. ThatTrooper suffered a hand/wrist injury was treated and released
Tear gas was deployed into the crowd Monday evening as well.
Just heard several loud bangs and then a rush of about 6-7 police vehicles moving rapidly down Bailey. @NewsRadio930
— Brendan Keany (@BrendanKeany) June 2, 2020Video posted by a bystander shows a line of police officers, backed up by an armored personnel carrier, rushing and tackling a man who was being interviewed by a man with a TV camera about 9:30 p.m. Other officers used batons to whack at protesters, who scattered.
Moments later, there was the sound of firearms discharging off camera, then officers ran as an SUV barreled through a cluster of officers. At least one appeared to go under the vehicle's wheels.
The SUV drove around an armored vehicle and sped off as more gunfire sounded.
WARNING: The below video is graphic in nature
Just happened: a protest in a car run over a group of cops in Buffalo NY...Some of them might be dead#BlackLivesMatter #protests2020 pic.twitter.com/UraxbRhMuV
— Yousef NH (@YousefNH2) June 2, 2020As a police helicopter flew overhead, officers in armored vehicles asked the crowd to disperse and fired tear gas within a few blocks of where the police were struck. Several stores in the area were broken into, and people were seen entering and leaving with goods. The windows of a looted convenience store were smashed and protective metal bars had been pulled aside.
One woman on her front stoop said, "I'm scared," to a person over the phone.
As the night stretched on, the crowds thinned out and smoke swirled from trash that had been emptied out across several streets and set on fire.
The violence comes after a lengthy moving protest was largely peaceful through the afternoon, winding its way through the streets of downtown and the city's east side. The violence erupted as some demonstrators lingered and challenged police on Bailey Avenue into the late evening.
Organizers vow this isn't a one time demonstration and that they will make their presence known each day beginning at 4pm.
The Buffalo demonstration began to break up at about the same time President Trump was making an announcement about deploying military force in cities across the country to halt any potential violence.
