Tag: City Hall

Jan 27

2023

Cops suing department speak out

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In November, two Black Buffalo police officers and a mental health clinician sued the department and their commanding officer for creating a “hostile” and “discriminatory” work environment. Now the police department is insisting the officers return to work, while the captain they accused of unleashing a racist rant in the workplace is being paid to stay at home. The two officers — six-year veteran Katelynn Bolden and 15-year veteran Brandon Hawkins —  told Investigative Post in an exclusive interview that they’re not ready to come back.  They want assurances the department will protect them and create “a safe space” for other[...]

Posted 8 months ago

Jan 24

2023

Buffalo’s firefighting fleet is a mess

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Firefighters who spoke to Investigative Post described arriving at an East Side house fire earlier this month, only to find the lead truck couldn’t pump water. Several told stories about trucks breaking down on the way to a call. Last month’s blizzard has trained a spotlight on the deplorable condition of the Buffalo’s firefighting fleet. What’s illuminated is not pretty. A quarter the fleet — seven of 28 vehicles — is older than recommended industry standards. Another 13 are within two to three years of that mark. Many trucks are plagued by serious issues — cracked frames, unreliable pumps, engine[...]

Posted 8 months ago

Jan 9

2023

Council presses Brown on blizzard response

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Reeling from the deaths of more than 30 residents — among at least 44 fatalities across the region — Buffalo’s Common Council is asking a lot of questions about the city’s readiness and response to the Christmas blizzard. Today the Common Council will consider items filed by three of its members, all demanding information and action from Mayor Byron Brown’s administration. On Dec. 30, South District Council Member Chris Scanlon filed resolutions asking for, among other things: An inventory of vehicles and other equipment available to the city’s fire, police, and public works departments. The use of federal COVID relief[...]

Posted 9 months ago

Dec 26

2022

Tracking the plows in Buffalo

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  Updated: Wednesday, 1:15 p.m. This post has received a lot of traffic over the past couple of days, primarily, I suspect, because of the link to the city-affiliated map showing what streets in Buffalo have been plowed. The map might have been useful at some point, but no longer. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz disclosed at a press conference earlier Wednesday that county and state crews have taken on responsibility for plowing streets. Poloncarz termed the city’s effort “embarrassing .” The Buffalo Police Department tweeted that there are more than 450 pieces of snow fighting equipment clearing city streets,[...]

Posted 9 months ago

Dec 14

2022

City Hall and the House from Hell

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The boarded-up house on Arkansas Street stands as a testament to City Hall’s ineptitude in dealing with urban blight. Not one, but two people — suspected drug users — have died inside the abandoned house since Sept. 26. That followed years of housing code violations and frequent complaints from neighbors about drug use and other quality of life issues. A maintenance man alerted police when the first man overdosed, but officers didn’t go inside to check on him, according to neighbors and police reports. That didn’t happen until eight days later, when neighbors called police again because of the stench[...]

Posted 9 months ago

Dec 13

2022

Maybe the feds can fix Buffalo police

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The U.S. Justice Department has investigated more than 80 problem-plagued police departments and correctional facilities over the past 25 years and mandated remedial action to correct issues it encountered in more than half of them. Pittsburgh was the Justice Department’s first target. In 1997, the DOJ and the city signed a “consent decree” — a binding agreement — under which the city adopted numerous police reforms, including an “early warning system” to track officers who exhibited a tendency toward excessive use of force or racial discrimination. A 2012 consent decree between Seattle and the DOJ — prompted by a pattern[...]

Posted 10 months ago

Nov 25

2022

Investigative Post’s groundbreaking police coverage

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Geoff Kelly wrote a couple of blockbuster stories for us over the past week involving allegations of racism in the Buffalo Police Department. One was based on depositions given by retired police commanders in which they acknowledged use of the N-word by officers and a failure to properly train, supervise and discipline cops working on special street units. The other story was based on a federal lawsuit in which officers accuse their captain of making racially derogatory remarks about Black officers and justifying racist attitudes among whites. These revelations were shocking, to be sure. But given Investigative Post’s reporting on[...]

Posted 10 months ago

Nov 15

2022

Disturbing police testimony demands action

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The toxic culture that permeates the Buffalo Police Department is now in the open. The use of the N word by cops. A lack of training to stop police from doing the wrong thing, and lack of accountability when they do. The allegations aren’t being leveled by department critics. Rather, they’ve been described, under oath, by police themselves, including those in supervisory positions. Shocking? Yes. Surprising? No. Investigative Post has been reporting on problems within the department since 2016. A lack of proper training. A failure to investigative citizen complaints against officers. The unconstitutional practices of special street crime units.[...]

Posted 10 months ago