The latest legal twist in a federal lawsuit brought by Martin Gugino, whose skull was fractured after police shoved him to the pavement at a Niagara Square protest, centers on two words: “yes” or “no.”
Lawyers for Martin Gugino have filed a widely anticipated lawsuit against the City of Buffalo.
Gugino’s lawyer wanted to hear one or the other of the two words to questions he posed during a deposition of Police Commissioner Joseph A. Gramaglia. But Gramaglia had more to say at times during his sworn, out-of-court oral testimony.
“Could you please answer my questions and not give speeches, because you’re causing an undue delay in my questioning of you by going off on tangents,” attorney Richard P. Weisbeck Jr., who represents Gugino, told the commissioner during the Nov. 9, 2023, deposition.
Forty-five minutes into the deposition, Weisbeck suspended it, frustrated by the lack of “yes” or “no” responses.
When Gramaglia’s lawyer said the commissioner had answered the questions, Weisbeck said, “I’m asking straightforward questions about ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ and this witness decided throughout the entire deposition that he’s not going to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to questions that call for a ‘yes’ or ‘no’…
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