BUFFALO (WBEN) - In what continues to be a tumultuous year in Buffalo, a Wednesday night protest in reaction to the grand jury decision in the Louisville case of Breonna Taylor turned chaotic, as a demonstrator was struck by a pickup truck in Niagara Square.
Police tell WBEN the individual, who has since been identified at 59-year-old Karen Huffman, was transported to ECMC with what appear to be non life-threatening injuries.
UPDATE: Video from the scene in #Buffalo after a driver drove their truck through a crowd of Breonna Taylor protestors in Niagara Square. At least one person was taken away by ambulance - the truck sped off. @SPECNewsBuffalo pic.twitter.com/mN3eG0uMFO
— Stephen Marth (@StephenMarth) September 24, 2020
"We don't want to see anybody get hurt in our community at any time; it's a bad feeling when someone in the community gets hurt," said Mayor Byron Brown Thursday afternoon. "The police know, of course, who was in the vehicle; they know about the incidents related to that protest, and there is an investigation that's being conducted by the Buffalo Police Department's Accident Investigation Unit and the District Attorney's Office."
Brown fielded questions from media regarding the incident, and he was asked about police presence at these kinds of protests and what is being done to make sure people remain safe.
"We have said very early on in this protest process that we are going to respect people's right to protest," he said Brown. "Protest organizations have said to us that they don't want to see a militarized response to protest, and we have backed off accordingly, respecting what protest organizations have said to us. A thing to understand is that every protest is different, and every protest organization and group of protesters are different. Some want to work with Buffalo Police and some want police at a distance - some do not want a close connection or involvement with police.
"Part of the mission of the detail is to respect people's right to protest, and if they want help and they want assistance, to give it, and if they don't want that kind of help or assistance, to stay back and back off, but in cases where they know there might be the potential for counter protest, for police to be present in the proper numbers to protect people. In this case, the belief was that protesters wanted police to back off; they did not want police in close proximity, and police monitored from a distance."
Slow Roll Buffalo issued this statement:
Last night in Niagara Square, as an impromptu nonviolent protest of the injustice over Breonna Taylor was reaching a peaceful conclusion, a motorist who had been stopped in front of City Hall suddenly revved up and rammed through the crowd, striking Karen Huffman, a Slow Roll board member and longtime volunteer leader who also serves as a legal observer among countless community causes. Karen is currently hospitalized in stable condition, grateful for the rapid response from volunteer medics on the scene as well as the ongoing outpouring of love and care for her.
All citizens who support Karen's commitment to justice for all are invited to Niagara Square tonight at 7pm, where Slow Roll will preside over a series of statements on her behalf before proceeding on a roundtrip nonviolent march. The gathering will be livestreamed at www.slowrollbuffalo.org as well as our YouTube channel and Facebook group, as a special episode of our weekly Virtual Slow Roll.
