The attorney for Martin Gugino, the 75-year-old protester who was injured after a push and fall during an encounter with Buffalo Police June 4, says her client continues to recover but is not yet ready to leave the hospital.
Kelly Zarcone, in an email sent Tuesday afternoon, said Gugino has good days and bad days, and her visit to him Tuesday was a good day.
"He holds up his end of a complex conversation just fine and his sense of humor has not suffered one bit," Zarcone wrote. "He is continually delighted with the outpouring of well wishes from people around the globe. I brought him a big stack of cards and emails which people sent to my office to cheer him on."
Zarcone also said that Gugino remains in rehabilitation and will not be discharged from the hospital this week. She suggests that with the focus now on healing, Gugino may be weeks away from agreeing to interviews about his incident during a protest in Niagara Square against police brutality. The encounter, push and fall was captured on video and received tens of millions of views worldwide.
Gugino, Zarcone added, has expressed an appreciation for the press, in her written words, "especially for fact checking some of the inflammatory lies about him which are floating around."
Two Buffalo police officers have been suspended from the department and are charged with second-degree assault. Zarcone said her client has not yet filed a Notice of Claim, nor does she anticipate that will happen this week, if they ultimately choose to file one.
