Earlier this week, Americans were horrified when they saw a video of Buffalo, N.Y. police officers violently shoving an elderly man to the ground.
Buffalo Police Officers to be charged Saturday morning pic.twitter.com/sVuvpwHnGY
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 6, 2020
In seconds, it was clear that the man was seriously injured. Despite that, no officers were seen coming to his aid.
Amidst a report that the mayor of Buffalo, Byron Brown, called the elderly man an “agitator,” Los Angeles Lakers veteran Jared Dudley had no choice but to respond. He took to social media to demand that the city official does his job better.
You could of easily arrest him peacefully, don’t want to hear it ok to push a 75 year old man to the ground cuz he was instigating. Do your job better https://t.co/WADEvZKEo3
— Jared Dudley (@JaredDudley619) June 6, 2020
Dudley is far from the first NBA star to speak out against state and federal government officials over the past week.
As outrage erupted after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, protesters have taken to the streets in all 50 states.
Unsurprisingly, NBA players have been amongst the most vocal celebrities. Many have taken to the streets themselves, while other have been incredibly active on social media, using their massive platforms to encourage change.
On Saturday, both officers seen in the video were charged with one count of assault in the second degree, according to CNN.
While it is certainly good that the officers will face justice, it is simply despicable that they decided to act the way they did in the first place.
Surely, Dudley is far from the only person who will be keeping tabs on this story going forward.
