Lawmaker asks state AG to investigate Granville incident

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Sheriff John Garcia and Chief of Narcotics D.J. Granville at a March press conference.

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A city lawmaker wants the state attorney general to investigate the incident in April 2024 in which the Erie County Sheriff’s narcotics chief plowed his county-owned pickup truck into seven parked cars on the city’s West Side.

There are currently three inquiries into the incident involving Chief D.J. Granville, which Investigative Post first reported in March.

Niagara District Common Council Member David Rivera — a retired city detective  who chairs the Council’s Police Oversight Committee — on Monday appealed to Attorney General Letitia James to launch a “neutral, third-party” inquiry into the incident, which took place in Rivera’s district.

Rivera is particularly interested in the Buffalo police response at the scene, which was supervised by Granville’s sister-in-law, Lt. Lucia Esquilin. 

In his letter to James, Rivera noted that officers reportedly “failed to follow what I understand to be typical procedures, such as: 1) turning on body cameras; 2) performing a field-sobriety test; and 3) questioning witnesses.”

“Given the delays, lack of transparency, and the serious nature of the alleged misconduct and procedural lapses, I believe it is in the public’s best interest for the New York State Attorney General to step in as a neutral, independent body,” Rivera said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.

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Granville, the county’s top narcotics officer, on April 11 of last year was driving a county-owned Dodge Ram pickup truck when he hit two parked cars on Jersey Street, according to witnesses. He then turned the wrong way down one-way Prospect Avenue and hit five more, before the heavily damaged truck could travel no further. 

Granville was whisked away from the scene, witnesses told Investigative Post. The police incident report does not indicate he was given any sobriety tests. The late-night mayhem was kept under wraps until Investigative Post reported the story. 

Other news outlets followed suit, publishing video capturing one of the collisions, as well as photos of Granville’s disabled vehicle. 

Police Commissioner Alphonso Wright told Rivera’s Police Oversight Committee that his department launched an internal inquiry in January. Erie County Sheriff John Garcia, who initially claimed ignorance of the matter and shrugged off questions about it, has since said his office is also conducting an inquiry. 

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Both Garcia and Wright have indicated those internal investigations will not conclude until a third review of Granville’s conduct and the Buffalo police response is completed — this one by Niagara County District Attorney Brian Seaman. Erie County District Attorney Michael Keane in March referred the matter to his Niagara County counterpart, citing a conflict of interest, in that Keane’s office employs one of Granville’s relatives.

Seaman in April — with the one-year statute of limitations set to expire — recommended Granville be charged with three counts of leaving the scene of an accident. The narcotics chief — a prolific donor to local elected officials — previously was charged only with driving the wrong way down a one-way street, which was pleaded down to a jaywalking violation.

Erie County so far has paid $60,000 to the owners of the vehicles Granville hit. One is currently suing the county in state court. Granville has been on leave since shortly after Investigative Post broke the story, according to the sheriff’s office.

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