Many on social media were shocked and disgusted this past week after a video surfaced on Twitter which showed police shoving a 75-year-old Buffalo man to the ground. The man was on the ground bleeding from his ear and no one came to help him until it was almost too late. Numerous high profile people used the incident as a prime example of how police brutality has infested the United States and how it needs to stop this instant.

Well, Buffalo mayor Byron Brown doesn't seem to think the police did anything wrong. When asked about the incident, he referred to the man in question Martin Gugino as an "agitator" and as someone who has been inciting riots and looting in the city. These are pretty heavy allegations for a 75-year-old and to make matters worse, Brown endorsed the use of force as he was reportedly out past curfew.

Rapper Ice Cube saw these remarks and immediately reacted saying simply: "SUCKA SHIT." It's certainly hard to disagree with Cube's sentiments when you consider how the mayor of a major city is trying to justify the use of excessive force on an elderly man who was only trying to give a helmet back to the police.

After two Buffalo cops were suspended without pay for shoving a 75-year-old protestor to the pavement, causing him to crack his head and bleed from his ears, the city’s entire Emergency Response Team has resigned.

“Fifty-seven resigned in disgust because of the treatment of two of their members, who were simply executing orders,” said John Evans, president of the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association. The emergency squad was formed in 2016 and is deployed in instances of mass protests or riots. WGRZ confirms that while these officers have resigned from the ERT, they are, in fact, still employed.

Footage of the Buffalo police officers pushing the elderly man to the ground began circulating on Thursday night. In the disturbing, violent clip, 75-year-old Martin Gugino, a well-known activist in the city, can be seen approaching a hoard of officers. The crowd of cops continues to charge forward, as two of them pushing Martin down, causing him to hit his head. These two officers responsible, one of whom has been identified as Aaron Torgalski, were suspended immediately by Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. According to Mayor Brown, an investigation has been launched by Buffalo Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood.

As of Friday morning, Martin has been reported to be “alert and oriented,” though still in a “serious yet stable condition.”

Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver was arrested, Saturday night, on charges of DWI and unlawful carrying of a weapon.

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A witness notified authorities that someone in a Ford pickup truck was swerving lanes. That someone ended up being Ed Oliver, who had an open beer can between his legs and a pistol in the car when he was pulled over. A field sobriety test determined Oliver to be impaired. 

“We are aware of the situation and we are gathering more information. We will have no further comment at this point,” the Bills said in a statement, regarding the arrest.

If that statement sounds familiar, it’s because it echos the Redskins’ response to WR Cody Latimer being arrested, Saturday, for gun charges. “We are aware of the situation and have informed the NFL League Office,” the organization said in a statement. “We will continue to gather more information and have no further comment at this time.”

Oliver was one of four total NFL players arrested on Saturday. In addition to himself and Latimer, New York Giants’ DeAndre Baker and Seahawks’ Quinton Dunbar were both arrested as well.

Oliver was drafted by the Bills No. 9 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft.

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Kodak Black is facing more prison time after pleading guilty to a gun charge in a Niagara County court. According to WKBW Buffalo, the rapper faced a judge today where he admitted to possession of a charge of attempted second-degree criminal possession of a firearm. The rapper is now facing two to seven years in prison for this charge. However, in his favor, the sentence will run concurrently to his federal possession of a firearm sentence. His sentencing date is set for March 24th.

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Kodak Black was arrested with three other people near the U.S.-Canada border in 2019. Authorities discovered four handguns in the vehicle as well as a personal use amount of cannabis and loaded magazine cartridges. The Buffalo Field Office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection called the arrest their top seizure of 2019. 

Kodak Black is currently behind bars in connection to the 2019 Rolling Loud Miami arrest. The rapper pleaded guilty to falsifying documents to obtain a firearm in last August. The rapper is reportedly expected to be released from prison around 2022 for that charge. That’s subject to change in wake of his recent guilty plea.

Although he’s locked up, the rapper does have new music in the stash. On Valentine’s Day, the rapper unleashed “Because Of You” and later revealed that if fans helped it go platinum before his birthday, he’ll release his new album.

Back in December, Westside Gunn received criticism after saying in a RapRadar interview that Griselda’s (Westside Gunn, Benny The Butcher, Conway) output in 2019 went slightly overlooked, even though Dreamville or TDE would have been praised for being as prolific as the Buffalo-bred collective. He clarified that he has deep respect for those labels for anyone who was misinterpreting his initial statement. While Westside Gunn may have eased up on the self-appraisal to avoid offending any fans of those other rap crews, he has now ditched any pretence of humility. He believes Griselda has made some of the most important cultural contributions in hip hop history and he will keep shouting it from the rooftops. 

He posted a collage of Griselda album covers on Instagram and wrote:

“GRISELDA has the best Catalogue in HIP HOP HISTORY!!!!! IDC who u name and I respect EVERYBODY the OGs the Pioneers, the ones who even inspired US but the FAKTS is the FAKTS idk when y’all wanna start giving US our roses but this shit is CULTURE, whoever u name catalog not even this deep and this powerful we can debate all u want but don’t try and name somebody wit 3 strong albums and that’s it YOU must not be seeing the same picture I’m seeing and that’s Why I’m the [goat emoji] it’s not bc I’m the best rapper idgaf about that it’s about what I’m doing for the Culture as a whole FASHION,ART,WRESTLING ontop of Still making Projects that can run with ANYTHING it won’t be ever done again we’re living in modern day History.”

Westside Gunn has teased that he has a project titled Pray For Paris and another project with Madlib lined up for 2020. 

Weeks after releasing their single “Dr. Birds” from WWCD (What Would Chine Do), Westside Gunn, Conway The Machine, and Benny The Butcher performed the track on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon stage. The Griselda Records, Buffalo, New York trio brought their hometown to the main stage as they featured a video clip that showed the inspiration behind the title of the track: a restaurant in Buffalo.

“I’m very excited, it’s dope man,” Conway said of his Tonight Show performance. “I watch the show every time I get a chance, and I enjoy the show, and it’s just dope to be a part of that with my music to get me there and be able to represent Buffalo on that platform.” He added, “We are true to ourselves and we are true to our own sound which is the east side of Buffalo, New York sound.”

Griselda Records is known as one of the most hard-working collectives in hip hop, and their love for their city doesn’t go unnoticed. “They’re very proud of this community, and it’s good to see them reaching success and appearing on Jimmy Fallon,” Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said. Check out the Griselda and their street-wise style on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon below.

The entirety of 2019 wasn’t great for Kodak Black. Numerous legal issues have set his career back with the rapper getting hit with a 3-year sentence for federal weapons charges. Although he already had a few legal issues on his plate already, this is the one that will keep him behind bars for the next few years.

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Aside from the federal gun case, the rapper was also arrested at the Buffalo border after weed and guns were discovered in his vehicle. The vehicle the rapper was traveling in reportedly had four handguns, a loaded magazine, and a personal use amount of cannabis. Kodak and the three other people he was traveling with were arrested for felony possession of a weapon.

According to WBFO, the rapper’s arrest topped the U.S. Customs top 10 list of seizures in 2019 made by the Buffalo Gield Office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

“The CBP Officers within Buffalo Field Operations work tirelessly to protect our nation’s security,” said LaFonda Sutton-Burke, acting director of Buffalo Field Operations. “This list is just a small snapshot of the outstanding work they do day in and day out.”

Following his arrest, the rapper was forced to pay $20K bond and was also forced to cancel several concerts in the United States as well as in Canada on his Dying To Live tour.