Police Under Fire For Throwing Black Woman To The Ground

Buffalo Police Commissioner Erika Shields is calling footage of a Buffalo Deputy Police Commissioner pushing a young Black woman to the ground, seemingly unprovoked, “concerning.”

A full review of the incident has been launched based on the footage from July 11, which showed Black partygoers walking along Chippewa Street in the downtown area.

Several officers were conducting crowd control when a female pedestrian walked by Deputy Commissioner Craig Macy without even looking in his direction. In the short clip circulating on social media, Macy forcefully shoved the woman, causing her to fall backward onto the sidewalk as onlookers watched in shock.

RELATED CONTENT: ‘She Deserves Justice’ — Black Woman Says Traffic Stop Turned Violent After Officer Kneed Her In The Eye And Ripped Out Her Braids

It’s unclear what prompted Macy to push the woman or whether she suffered any injuries. After getting up from the ground, he walked toward her again, but another officer intervened and steered her away from the scene.

That Saturday night, Macy was reportedly serving on a task force overseeing the Taste of Buffalo community event and a city-approved dance party. 

Sources say he and other officers were responding to reports of a large fight and shots fired on Chippewa Street when the incident involving the woman occurred.

On Tuesday, Buffalo Police released footage from Deputy Commissioner Macy’s body camera showing his vantage point.

“The footage makes it clear that the Deputy Commissioner was leading from the front and responding to an intense physical altercation between multiple individuals, including the woman who was pushed back as she attempted to re-engage with other individuals involved in the altercation,” said Shields in a statement to WGRZ.

Social media reactions to the viral clip range from anger on behalf of the victim to understanding of the officer’s actions given the potentially dangerous circumstances.

“Rage bait. Who cares, police doing their job to clear out Chippewa which is a zoo now,” commented one Instagram user.

While another chimed in, “There’s absolutely no reason why he should have shoved her to the ground. Regardless of how chaotic the situation was or what led up to it, he is the Deputy Police Commissioner of Buffalo. There were other ways he could have handled the situation.”

“What happened was unethical and unacceptable. Leadership and authority come with a responsibility to exercise restraint, professionalism, and good judgment, especially in tense situations,” she added.

Some locals likened the exchange to a 2020 case involving two Buffalo officers who were filmed shoving an elderly George Floyd protester to the ground, fracturing his skull.

The city suspended the officers without pay, and prosecutors charged them with felony second-degree assault, but a court eventually cleared them of any wrongdoing.

Ellicott District councilwoman and council majority leader Leah Halton-Pope knows Macy, telling WBEN radio, “Deputy Commissioner Macy has always been level-headed, and this was a little bit shocking to see in a video, but that’s one portion. I don’t know what happened before the video. I don’t know what happened after the video.”

However, Police Commissioner Shields told BTPM News she would not comment further until the investigation concludes.

She is the former Police Chief of Atlanta, who resigned in 2020 following the officer-involved shooting death of Rayshard Brooks.

RELATED CONTENT: If That Viral Bernita Bowlding Photo Doesn’t Terrify You, You’re Not Paying Attention To What’s Been Happening To Black Women [Op-Ed]