Tag: Police

Sep 30

2020

M.T. Pockets is open – and under investigation

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M.T. Pockets, the North Buffalo bar that closed earlier his month after its patrons shouted racist slurs at demonstrators rallying for police reform, has quietly reopened. The Erie County Health Department cleared the Hertel Avenue bar to reopen Monday, after it submitted a plan to ensure the safety of patrons during the COVID-19 pandemic. Plywood that had covered its door and front windows has been removed and a limited number of patrons are being admitted. Meanwhile, the State Liquor Authority told Investigative Post it opened an investigation into the bar earlier this month. Apparent violations of COVID-19 health and safety[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Sep 24

2020

No more name tags for Buffalo cops

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Concerned with officer safety following an uptick in online harassment, Buffalo Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood is no longer requiring Buffalo cops to display name tags on their uniforms. Many officers had been ignoring the previous edict requiring officers to display their name tags on their outermost garments since anti-racism protests began in late May. Members of the public, including demonstrators, have said the absence of name tags makes it impossible to identify officers engaged in misconduct.   According to Captain Jeffrey Rinaldo, the department’s spokesman, the policy was altered last Friday after more than a dozen police officers were doxed —[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Sep 14

2020

Saturday’s shooting wasn’t Buffalo cop’s first

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Karl Schultz, identified in press reports as the police officer who shot Willie Henley Saturday afternoon, has pulled the trigger on a civilian at least once before. In 2012, Schultz fired multiple shots at 17-year-old Wilson Morales on the city’s East Side. One of the bullets he fired left Morales paralyzed for life.  The City of Buffalo settled a lawsuit with Morales in February for $4.5 million, the largest settlement of its kind in the city’s history. Schultz’s disciplinary history landed him on a list of officers, provided to Investigative Post by the Buffalo Police Department, investigated by Internal Affairs frequently[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Sep 10

2020

Few arrested protesters being prosecuted

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Authorities are prosecuting fewer than a quarter of the 54 protesters arrested in racial justice demonstrations staged in and around Buffalo since late May. Most of the charges initially brought against protesters were for nonviolent incidents like violating a curfew, disorderly conduct and harassment in the second degree. More serious charges included arson, aggravated assault of a police officer and criminal possession of a weapon. Most who were arrested have had their charges dismissed. Here’s the breakdown:  32 protesters had their charges dismissed by a judge. 11 received adjournments in contemplation of dismissal, or ACDs. 10 are headed toward prosecution.[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Sep 3

2020

Buffalo cop under investigation after scuffle 

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A twice-suspended Buffalo police officer is under investigation by Internal Affairs after he was caught on camera Thursday afternoon punching a man on Elmwood Avenue.  The officer, Richard Hy, was off-duty at the time and dressed in camouflage. He’s white, the man he punched was black, someone described by police and witnesses as displaying mental distress and violent behavior. The video was posted to Facebook and later deleted. The poster, Abu Pablo, wrote: “Person in military fatigues assaults mentally deranged man while I sip coffee.” Another witness told Investigative Post the video does not tell the full story.  “This wasn’t[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Sep 1

2020

Police transparency hinges on legal battle

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For more than 40 years, state law and contractual agreements concealed police personnel records from public scrutiny. Complaints lodged against officers, investigations into misconduct, disciplinary actions, settlement agreements — all these tools for evaluating an officer’s suitability for the job — were almost completely inaccessible. That changed in June, when, in response to the nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd, the New York State Legislature amended the state’s Civil Rights and Freedom of Information laws to make those records public. Buffalo’s police union is not surrendering those protections gracefully. The Buffalo Police Benevolent Association is challenging the new[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Aug 10

2020

Jail guard suspended after confrontation

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An Erie County Sheriff’s Office employee has been placed on administrative leave after being caught on camera menacing Black Lives Matter protesters with a baseball bat during a march Saturday evening in South Buffalo. A video shared more than 300 times on Facebook shows a man wearing an “All Lives Matter” t-shirt climbing out of his pickup truck, then cursing and approaching protesters waving an aluminum bat. An estimated 100 to 150 protesters were marching near Mount Mercy Academy.  Commenters on the post identified the man as a corrections officer with the Erie County Sheriff’s Office who was off-duty at[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Aug 6

2020

Heaney talks police contract on ‘Pressroom

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Following up on Geoff Kelly’s report last week, Jim Heaney talks about provisions of Buffalo’s contract with its police union that make it difficult to discipline officers and deprive the department’s leadership of many management rights. Heaney, speaking on The Capitol Pressroom,  noted that while Mayor Byron Brown has harshly criticized the union and its contract for being an obstacle to reform, city negotiators have failed to propose changes.  

Posted 4 years ago
Investigative Post

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