Articles for Investigative Post staff

Jun 24

2020

Police arrest Niagara Square protesters

Buffalo Police today arrested 13 protesters who had been occupying Niagara Square for a week and a half. The order to clear the square came directly from Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood, police spokesman Captain Jeff Rinaldo told Investigative Post. The arrests were made about 1 a.m. Wednesday, just hours before the department put in place a new policy to issue appearance tickets for low-level offenses rather than taking people into custody. Juan Santos, a protester who was arrested, spoke with Investigative Post, and said they were detained and held in Central Booking for nearly five hours before being issued appearance[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Jun 23

2020

Pandemic cited as child porn complaints spike

The COVID-19 pandemic has yet another dark side: child pornography complaints have doubled since March. The reason: children are home from school and frequently on their cell phones and other digital devices, making them more susceptible to overtures from predators. New York State Police report the number of complaints in March, April and May jumped from 1,339 last year to 2,640 for the same period this year. (No local data is available.) The increase is even more pronounced nationally, up from about 3 million last year to 7.7 million during the same period this year, according to the National Center[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Jun 8

2020

Ali Ingersoll discusses protests on WGRZ

Michael Wooten quizzed Ali Ingersoll Monday on her impressions of ongoing protests and the change demonstrators are seeking. She said demonstrations calmed down through the course of the week and that protestors are clear on the change they seek: major reform of the police department. Ingersoll also explained the dynamics of “defunding police,” which is an effort to recast how public safety services are delivered and reallocate resources accordingly. The New York Times published a good primer on it this evening. Calls to defund police departments are generally seeking spending cuts to police forces that have consumed ever larger[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Jun 5

2020

Victim of police shove a veteran activist

The protestor seen being shoved by two Buffalo Police officers is Martin Gugino, a 75-year-old long-time activist, known by many in the community. “He would want this information to get out so the story is more than ‘an elderly man was pushed down,’” said Terrance Bisson, a friend and activist with the Latin American Solidarity Committee. “He stands for something.” Gugino is said to be in stable but serious condition at Erie County Medical Center. “It would be typical of him to be speaking with someone, asking questions about why was this being done when it doesn’t have to be[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Jun 5

2020

Police crowd-control unit resigns in protest

Updated: Saturday, 5:11 p.m. A special squad on the Buffalo Police Department — the Emergency Response Team — has resigned from their posts, according to the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association. The announcement comes one day after two members were suspended without pay when a video surfaced, showing the officers pushing over a 75-year-old protestor, causing injury. The BPD Internal Affairs unit has opened an investigation into the incident. “Fifty-seven resigned in disgust because of the treatment of two of their members, who were simply executing orders,” said John Evans, PBA president. All officers who resigned from ERT will remain on[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Jun 4

2020

Police assault injures protester

Updated: Friday, 3:40 a.m. Important events have unfolded since we posted Thursday evening about a peaceful resolution between police and protesters the night before in front of City Hall. Shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday, a video shot by a reporter with WBFO captured two Buffalo police officers shoving a 75-year-old protester to the ground. The man struck his head with an audible thud on the sidewalk in front of City Hall and immediately began bleeding. He was transferred to Erie County Medical Center, where he is listed in serious but stable condition. Here’s a report from our partners at WGRZ. A[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Jun 2

2020

PBA: Cops not trained or equipped for protests

Buffalo police need equipment and training to adequately deal with crowds of protestors, John Evans, president of the Police Benevolent Association, has told Investigative Post. Evans is one of several officers who have contacted Ali Ingersoll in recent days to complain about the department’s lack of preparedness. Evans noted grievances and correspondence dating to 2014 in which the union has raised the issue with the department’s leadership. Speaking of this week’s protests against police violence, Evans said: “You want to end the thing without killing anyone or hurting them badly … I would like to see some of the other[...]

Posted 5 years ago

May 21

2020

COVID-19 cited in spike of opioid overdoses

Update: 3:15 p.m. There’s yet another consequence to the COVID-19 pandemic: More opioid users are dying of overdoses. Health authorities report that opioid use has not increased locally, but because of social isolation, more people are using alone, making it less likely someone is around to help them in the event they overdose. Eighty-five people died in Erie County from presumed overdoses through the first four months of the year. That’s up from 48 during the same period last year and 64 in 2018. “They’re alone and we’re finding people too late,” said Cheryll Moore, director of the Erie County[...]

Posted 5 years ago