Tag: Police

Feb 19

2024

MMR: It pays to be a suburban cop

Published by

We’ve reported on the outrageous salaries being paid to the likes of Henry Wojtaszek of Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. and Steven Hyde of Genesee County Economic Development Center. They make about as much or more than the governor. (What is it about highly paid bureaucrats in Genesee County, population 57,853?)  Well, it turns out Wojtaszek and Hyde have plenty of company across the state. The Empire Center for Public Policy reported last week that 1,187 employees of local governments in New York were paid more than Gov. Kathy Hochul’s salary of $250,000 in 2022-23. More than 200 took home[...]

Posted 4 weeks ago

Oct 11

2023

More misdeeds involving Niagara Falls candidate

Published by

Guns gone missing and an order to stay away from a former girlfriend are included in the past of Carlton Cain, GOP candidate for Niagara Falls mayor, who once was a top official in the city’s police department.  Cain said he doesn’t recall signing an administrative order of protection issued by Acting Police Superintendent Michael Trane in 2019.  “I guess if I signed it, it happened,” he said.  The woman in question, who was cooperating with an Internal Affairs investigation of Cain, did not return a phone call from Investigative Post. Trane has not responded to an interview request.  In[...]

Posted 5 months ago

Oct 6

2023

Misconduct allegations against ‘Falls mayoral candidate

Published by

Carlton Cain, the Republican candidate for mayor of Niagara Falls, was investigated at least twice on charges of misconduct while serving on the city’s police force before retiring in 2019. Charges that are a matter of public record include his efforts to retrieve his stolen police weapon and allegations that he removed files on him compiled by the department’s Internal Affairs unit. Cain, in an interview with Investigative Post, denied removing his Internal Affairs records. The department’s investigation of the allegation reached no conclusion.  He was docked three days pay involving the gun incident. A third matter involved a woman[...]

Posted 5 months ago

Feb 2

2023

Lawsuit: Aggressive ticketing of Black drivers

Published by

Between 2012 and 2020, one Buffalo police officer, Kelvin Sharpe, wrote nearly 12,000 traffic tickets.  More than two-thirds of those Sharpe ticketed were Black, according to data gathered from Erie County and the City of Buffalo and analyzed by attorneys for the plaintiffs in a federal civil rights lawsuit. Another Buffalo cop, 14-year veteran Michael Acquino, wrote nearly 2,500 tickets for tinted windows in that same time period, 2012-2020.  About 85 percent of the recipients were Black. A third officer, Richard Hy, issued, on average, at least one more ticket per stop to minority drivers compared to white drivers over[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Jan 27

2023

Cops suing department speak out

Published by

In November, two Black Buffalo police officers and a mental health clinician sued the department and their commanding officer for creating a “hostile” and “discriminatory” work environment. Now the police department is insisting the officers return to work, while the captain they accused of unleashing a racist rant in the workplace is being paid to stay at home. The two officers — six-year veteran Katelynn Bolden and 15-year veteran Brandon Hawkins —  told Investigative Post in an exclusive interview that they’re not ready to come back.  They want assurances the department will protect them and create “a safe space” for other[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Jan 4

2023

Podcast: Reporting on police misconduct

Published by

The Buffalo Police Department is under fire of criticism from local activists, alleging racial and civil discrimination. Officers’ frequent use of racial slurs, including the “N-word,” and unequal, discriminating policing efforts in different neighborhoods are two of thr allegations levied in a lawsuit by Black Love Resists in the Rust. Geoff Kelly has reported on the lawsuit the Buffalo Police Department faces, including officer misconduct and potential oversight from the Department of Justice.  Kelly sat down with Garrett Looker, host of our podcast series, to talk about his reporting. Watch via YouTube or listen as a podcast.

Posted 1 year ago

Dec 16

2022

Podcast: Reporting on 149 Arkansas

Published by

The windows and doors of a West Side house are boarded up, debris scattered throughout the yard. Inside, two individuals have died, their bodies left to decay. The dilapidated house at 149 Arkansas St. has been the source of numerous calls to emergency personnel. Its owners have been hit with multiple housing code violations and thousands of dollars of unpaid summons. Local residents have said the property’s owner, the Buffalo Police Department, and City Hall have skirted accountability. In their stead, the residents of Arkansas Street are left to deal with the property’s effects, including the stench of a decaying[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Dec 14

2022

City Hall and the House from Hell

Published by

The boarded-up house on Arkansas Street stands as a testament to City Hall’s ineptitude in dealing with urban blight. Not one, but two people — suspected drug users — have died inside the abandoned house since Sept. 26. That followed years of housing code violations and frequent complaints from neighbors about drug use and other quality of life issues. A maintenance man alerted police when the first man overdosed, but officers didn’t go inside to check on him, according to neighbors and police reports. That didn’t happen until eight days later, when neighbors called police again because of the stench[...]

Posted 1 year ago
Investigative Post

Get our newsletters delivered to your inbox * indicates required

Newsletters *