Kelly Clarkson Calls on ‘Great Cops’ to Hold Officers Shoving 75-Year-Old New York Protester Accountable

The Voice coach Kelly Clarkson called on “good cops” to hold the Buffalo, New York police officers who pushed a 75-year-old man to the ground accountable for their actions. On Thursday evening, Buffalo officers were filmed pushing the man to the ground while clearing a sidewalk in front of City Hall. Two officers were suspended without pay, and their colleagues showed support for the suspended officers by resigning Friday.

“To every single cop in this video that walked by that poor man bleeding out of his head after he was OBVIOUSLY pushed, WHY ARE YOU A COP???!!!!! To all the great cops out there, CALL THESE SORRY EXCUSE FOR HUMANS OUT!!” Clarkson wrote on Twitter. She also shared the video with her followers.

Later, a Twitter user shared an elaborate conspiracy theory with Clarkson, which she had no time for. Clarkson noted that even if the elderly man faked falling on the ground, none of the officers even stopped to ask the man if he was well. “NOT ONE of those cops knew anything in that moment other than an older man was pushed down and now there’s blood on the ground and he could be dying,” Clarkson wrote. “Unless these are special, magical cops that know all.” She included an eye-rolling emoji and the hashtag “Wake up.”

The controversial video was filmed during a protest against police brutality, inspired by George Floyd‘s death. At first, police told local news outlets a protester was injured after he “tripped and fell.” After WBFO published the now-viral video, Buffalo Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood suspended two officers without pay. In response to the suspensions, the other 57 members of the Buffalo Police Department Emergency Response Team resigned Friday, with the support of their union.

Buffalo Police Benevolent Association President John Evans told the Buffalo News the officers were “simply following orders” to clear the street. “It doesn’t specify clear the square of men, 50 and under or 15 to 40,” Evans said Friday. “They were simply doing their job. I don’t know how much contact was made. He did slip in my estimation. He fell backwards.”

Clarkson has shown her support for the Black Lives Matter movement and protests on Twitter. On Wednesday, Clarkson asked her followers to focus on peaceful protests and to make sure looting does not overshadow their meaning. “It’s sad how my words r being twisted,” she wrote in another tweet. “I’m used 2 it happening by now but not w/such an important issue. My intentions have been & always will be 2 do the right thing. & the right thing is to listen, to educate myself, & 2 be a part of the change I wish to see. Black Lives Matter.”