Comptroller: Granville was off duty, liable for damages

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Report from Michael Wooten, 7 News

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D.J. Granville was off duty when he crashed his county-owned pickup truck into seven parked cars last year on Buffalo’s West Side, News 7’s Michael Wooten reported Tuesday evening.

Erie County Comptroller Kevin Hardwick told Wooten in an interview that the news comports with county payroll records. And Hardwick said it means Granville, not county taxpayers, should be on the hook for the cost of the damage he did to the truck he was driving and the cars he hit.

Granville pleaded guilty last week to one criminal misdemeanor count of reckless driving and a traffic violation for leaving the scene of an accident that caused property damage. A judge ordered the sheriff’s chief of narcotics to pay $726 in fines and fees and perform 50 hours of community service.

For months Erie County Sheriff John Garcia has maintained Granville was on duty when he plowed his truck into the parked cars on Jersey Street and Prospect Avenue late at night on April 11, 2024. The Erie County Attorney’s office has handled claims from the owners and insurers of cars he hit based on that understanding.

But an investigation into the incident by a special prosecutor, Niagara County District Attorney Brian Seaman, concluded that Granville was off duty at the time. And now the sheriff seems to have changed his tune.

On Tuesday afternoon Garcia announced his office had completed its internal investigation into the matter. Garcia said Granville would serve a 30-day unpaid suspension and was in talks with the county’s law department about paying “restitution relating to taxpayer funds that were expended as a result of the accident.”

“I agree that restitution is appropriate, and I am satisfied that D.J. is taking responsibility for his actions,” Garcia said in the statement.

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Hardwick told Wooten the county so far has paid out $36,940 to individuals and insurance companies for the vehicles Granville hit. Four claims are pending. The county-owned pickup truck Granville was driving, heavily damaged in the accident, was sold at auction, Hardwick confirmed.

The comptroller estimated the total cost to taxpayers would top $70,000.

Seaman, the special prosecutor, said at last week’s court hearing that his office is still looking into how Buffalo police responded to the incident. The supervising lieutenant at the scene was Granville’s sister-in-law. Witnesses said Granville appeared impaired, but officers failed to perform sobriety tests. The narcotics chief was whisked away from the scene in a patrol car, witnesses said.

Seaman said last week the supervising officer, Lt. Lucia Esquilin, and four other Buffalo cops who responded to the scene have refused to cooperate with his investigation. Buffalo police are also conducting an internal inquiry into how officers responded to the incident.

Hardwick told 7 News he was joining Niagara District Common Council Member David Rivera in asking the state attorney general to open an investigation.

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