BUFFALO, N.Y. — A vehicle plowed through a group of law enforcement officers at a George Floyd demonstration Monday night in Buffalo, injuring at least two.
Video 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, who ran. 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.
BREAKING: Car runs into police officers during protest in Buffalo, New York; at least 2 injured pic.twitter.com/HDXJeh8W85
— BNO News (@BNONews) June 2, 2020
The officers were taken to Erie County Medical Center. Authorities said their condition was stable.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz tweeted shortly before 11 p.m. that the driver and passengers of the vehicle were believed to be in custody.
Buffalo Police spokesman Michael DeGeorge said two people were struck by gunfire during Monday’s protest. It was not immediately known whether the shots came from police or others, he said. They were being treated at the same hospital.
As a police helicopter flew overhead, officers in armored vehicles later fired tear gas to disperse the crowd 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.
One woman on her front stoop said, “I’m scared,” to a person over phone.
