While Flynn said the grand jury proceedings are secret and he cannot disclose details, he said he did everything possible to bring a strong case.
“I’ve got 28 years as a naval officer, and I live and breathe every day by the core values: honor, courage and commitment,” Flynn said at a news conference Thursday afternoon. “And integrity happens to be a big thing with me. And I’m sitting here right now talking into every one of these mics, looking at every one of these cameras right here, looking at each one of you in the eye right now, and I’m telling you that I sandbagged nothing.”
He continued, “I went into that grand jury, I put all relevant evidence into that grand jury. I put multiple witnesses in that grand jury. I put everything that was not cumulative into that grand jury. And you got my word on that.”
CNN has reached out to Gugino’s attorney for comment.
The Buffalo Police Benevolent Association said it was “extremely pleased” with the grand jury’s decision.
“As we have stated all along, Officers McCabe and Torgalski were simply following departmental procedures and the directives of their superiors to clear Niagara Square despite working under extremely challenging circumstances,” the union said.
“The Buffalo PBA remains in staunch support of Officers McCabe and Torgalski.”
Video of the incident shows Gugino falling to the sidewalk, then his head bleeding as other officers walked by him.
Flynn was adamant that he didn’t rush in arresting the officers and said he had enough probable cause to proceed with the case.
“I apologize for nothing,” he told reporters. “I would not make any changes on any of my decisions going back to when this happened, OK? And yeah, I’m not going to tell you that in my opinion the right thing happened here, because I still believe that a crime was committed.”
It was his intention to treat these officers in the same manner as civilians in a similar situation, the district attorney said.
CNN’s Jessica Prater and Theresa Waldrop contributed to this report.
