All 57 members of Buffalo's Emergency Response Team RESIGN in 'disgust' over the suspension and criminal probe of two cops for shoving a peace activist, 75, to the floor during protests

Fifty seven officers have resigned from their positions on a Buffalo Police squad in support of two colleagues who were suspended after they were filmed shoving a 75-year-old peace activist to the ground, causing him to crack open his head.

The two officers were suspended without pay and are now under criminal investigation after footage showed them knocking Martin Gugino to the ground and leaving him with critical injuries in front of Buffalo's City Hall in upstate New York on Thursday night prior to the city's 8pm curfew.

The Buffalo Police Benevolent Association told the Investigative Post that all members of the department's Emergency Response Team have since resigned.

'Fifty-seven resigned in disgust because of the treatment of two of their members, who were simply executing orders,' PBA president John Evans said.

The 57 officers have not resigned from the Buffalo Police Department - only the Emergency Response Team they were serving on.

It comes after Erie County District Attorney's Office revealed it was investigating the officers for potential criminal liability.

'The Erie County District Attorney's Office continues to investigate the incident captured on video outside City Hall Thursday evening that resulted in the injury of (a) protester,' a spokeswoman for the office said in a statement on Friday.

Gugino, a longtime peace activist from Amherst, is in a serious but stable condition at Erie County Medical Center following the altercation with the officers, which left him lying in a pool of his own blood on the sidewalk in front of City Hall.

Earlier today, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called for criminal charges to be made against the officers.

In his daily press briefing Friday morning, Cuomo played the shocking footage which he said made him feel 'physically sick' in the same way the horrifying state death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has hit him over the last 90 days.

'I was sick to my stomach... it was the same feeling I had for 90 of the past nights when I got the death tolls for coronavirus. I was physically sick to my stomach,' he said.

The governor called for the city to fire and charge the two cops responsible for the attack on the elderly man and urged authorities to move quickly.

'I think the city should pursue firing and I think the DA should look at the situation for possible criminal charges and I think that should be done on an expeditious basis,' he said.

Cuomo urged officials to learn from the handling of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis where authorities were slammed for moving too slowly in bringing charges against the officers who killed him, sparking outrage across America.

'We saw in Minneapolis that people want answers and they want accountability and they want it quickly,' said Cuomo. 'The wheels of justice move slowly - they don't have to.

'I would encourage the DA to not do what happened in Minneapolis, which was the delay itself caused issues.'

He pointed to mistakes made where the Minneapolis authorities suggested evidence would lead to the cops involved in Floyd's death not facing any charges.

'When the DA said initially 'there's other evidence that suggests something else'... people don't want vaguery... they're upset, angry and frustrated... I would encourage the DA to move quickly and fairly and I think the mayor and police chief should pursue firing,' he added.

Cuomo praised Mayor Brown for acting quickly in suspending officers immediately Thursday night.