Categories for News

Jun 5

2020

Victim of police shove a veteran activist

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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

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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

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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

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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 16

2020

Lawsuit challenges Cuomo’s COVID-19 orders

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A Buffalo-area attorney has filed a legal challenge to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s use of executive powers to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, terming his actions a “disturbing and gross abuse” of authority. Corey Hogan contends Cuomo has exceeded the powers granted a governor under state law to issue executive orders. His federal lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the Western District Court in Buffalo, further contends that Cuomo’s actions run afoul of both the state and federal constitutions. The lawsuit takes aim at the powers used by governors across the nation to employ core strategies to address COVID-19, including orders to shelter in[...]

Posted 5 years ago

May 14

2020

Buffalo comptroller critical of Brown budget

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The COVID-19 crisis has laid bare the city’s fragile finances. But it hasn’t changed the Brown administration’s proclivity for budgets constructed on risky revenue assumptions and optimistic expense projections, according to a report issued Tuesday by the city comptroller’s office. In her report, Comptroller Barbara Miller-Williams expressed “substantial concerns” about the 2020-21 budget proposals Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown released May 1. The charter-mandated response to Brown’s budget identified a host of what Miller-Williams characterized as risky assumptions, including more than $80 million in uncertain revenues and nearly $15 million in expense savings that might not materialize. Brown’s budget relies heavily[...]

Posted 5 years ago

May 14

2020

Video triggers investigation of cop conduct

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A video showing a white Buffalo police officer repeatedly punching the face of a black man who was stopped for a traffic violation has gone viral on social media and triggered investigations by the Erie County District Attorney and the Police Department’s Internal Affairs office. The video, which has been shared on Facebook more than 1,300 times, shows the officers wrestling with Quentin Suttles at the side of a car in an attempt to restrain him. The officer tells Suttles he’s “making it worse” on himself. The video shows Ronald J. Ammerman, a third-generation police officer and three-year veteran of[...]

Posted 5 years ago

May 13

2020

$1B to Buffalo under House stimulus bill

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 The disaster relief package House Democrats expect to pass on Friday includes $375 billion in aid for local governments across the country.  About $1 billion of that would be earmarked for the City of Buffalo over two years, according to a breakdown provided to Investigative Post by U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins. If the House bill were adopted as is by the Senate — a nearly insurmountable if, according to Higgins — Buffalo would receive $671.6 million in 2020, within 30 days of the HEROES Act being adopted. The city would receive an additional $335.8 million in 2021. That’s nearly[...]

Posted 5 years ago
Investigative Post