Two Buffalo police officers are suspended for shoving a 75-year-old man who cracked his head on the sidewalk and is in hospital in a serious condition - as Gov. Cuomo blasts their 'utterly disgraceful' actions

Two Buffalo, New York, police officers have been suspended without pay after a video showed them shoving a 75-year-old man to the ground, causing him to crack his head on the sidewalk. 

The shocking footage, which was taken by a reporter from local radio station WBFO, shows a white-haired man approaching a line of officers in riot gear outside of Buffalo City Hall after the city's 8pm curfew on Thursday. 

As the man tries to speak to the officers, they immediately begin shouting at him to move along, before one of them pushes him with a baton and a second cop shoves him with his hand.  

The elderly man is then seen staggering before falling back and hitting his head on the sidewalk. The sound of a crack is heard and then blood is seen trickling from his head.

The man, who was not identified, was taken to the hospital where he is now in serious condition, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said.  

Buffalo Police initially released a statement saying a person 'was injured when he tripped & fell.'  The two cops are now under investigation.   

The incident has drawn widespread condemnation on social media as nationwide protests against the death of George Floyd and police brutality entered their tenth night. 

After the man hits the ground, the majority of the officers are seen marching past, though the cop who pushed him with a baton pauses to lean over, before he is motioned away by another officer. 

Someone is then heard calling for a medic. 

Mayor Brown later addressed the incident in a statement saying he was 'deeply disturbed by the video.'  

'Tonight, after a physical altercation between two separate groups of protesters participating in an illegal demonstration beyond the curfew, two Buffalo Police officers knocked down a 75-year-old man. The victim is in stable but serious condition at ECMC,' he said.   

'After days of peaceful protests and several meetings between myself, police leadership and members of the community, tonight's event is disheartening.'

Governor Cuomo responded to the incident on Twitter calling it 'utterly disgraceful' 

The officers were said to have been heading to clear Niagara Square where protests were taking place. 

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo condemned the incident as 'wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful.' 

He also said on Twitter that he spoke with Mayor Brown and agreed that the officers involved should be suspended, pending a formal investigation.

'Police Officers must enforce - NOT ABUSE - the law,' he said. 

Captain Jeff Rinaldo later told the TV station that an internal affairs investigation was opened.  

New York Attorney General Letitia James's office has tweeted that they're aware of the video. 

The video has been widely shared on social media, with many calling for the police officers to be fired. 

MSNBC correspondent Joy Reid was among those who expressed outrage over the police officers failing to help the man as he lay on the ground. 

'The rest just step over him while one calls it in. And then they grab another protester. What country is this and what century?' she tweeted. 

Actor Kumail Nanjiani also criticized the Buffalo Police Department's initial claim that the man tripped and fell, suggesting the cops would have likely gotten away with their actions if video hadn't emerged. 

It comes as the NYPD, as well as police officers across the country, have come under fire for using excessive force on people protesting peacefully.