Jun 23
2020
Jim Heaney talks the pitfalls and politics of policing during an interview with David Lombardo of The Capitol Pressroom. Investigative Post has reported extensively on policing issues since 2016, including coverage of anti-racism protests in recent weeks.
Jun 12
2020
A group of local community activists have launched an online petition demanding the resignation of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. The activists say Brown has failed to show leadership in the two weeks since demonstrators took to the streets to protest police brutality. The petition states: From the start on Saturday, May 30th, protestors were met with lines of militarized police. Cops were armed with rubber bullets and tear gas while helicopters occupied the sky and armored vehicles occupied the streets. Among the results, the petition continues, were assaults on activists Myles Carter and Martin Gugino — the latter attracting national[...]
Jun 12
2020
Some in the media have described Mayor Byron Brown’s proposed police reforms as “sweeping.” Not so, Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney told Susan Rose during an interview Friday on NewsRadio 930 WBEN. The reforms are modest, at best, he said. Heaney and Ali Ingersoll, in an analysis published Wednesday, concluded that while the mayor’s proposals included some new elements, they fail to address most of the key demands made by a coalition of community activists. Moreover, one of his key reforms is already mandated in state law, while another bans a practice not used by police.
Jun 11
2020
The City of Buffalo has three separate police oversight boards, but they’ve done little, if anything, to bring bad cops to heel. One can’t. It’s an advisory panel with no power beyond its voice. One won’t. It’s a subcommittee of the Common Council that seldom meets and does not investigate police misconduct. And the third, a commission mandated by the city’s charter and controlled by Mayor Byron Brown, is hopelessly compromised. Of the three, the Police Advisory Board has the least power. But it has advanced far more substantial ideas about how to change policing in Buffalo than the tepid[...]
Jun 10
2020
Updated: 9:36 p.m. The police reforms announced today by Mayor Byron Brown fall well short of demands made by protestors and actions being taken by some of his big-city peers. Brown, after several lengthy meetings over the past week with a coalition of activist groups, outlined at a Wednesday press conference the first steps the city is prepared to take. Among them: more police training; greater use of de-escalation techniques; replacement of the Emergency Response Team, whose members resigned en masse last week, with a new unit; and establishment of a commission to study further reforms. Other aspects of the[...]
Jun 9
2020
Geoff Kelly reported last Friday on the suspect claims of local politicians and police officials that outside agitators were behind disturbances at anti-racism protests here in Buffalo. Kelly found all but one person arrested in relation to the protests is from the Buffalo area and that much of the so-called intelligence cited by authorities was based on social media posts, not the most reliable of sources. The head of the city’s police union described the allegations of outside agitators as “nonsense” and a “hoax.” Geoff discussed his story Tuesday morning on NewsRadio 930 WBEN. Give a listen.
Jun 8
2020
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[...]
Jun 8
2020
The focus of protests in Buffalo the past week has sharpened: reform the Buffalo Police Department. A coalition of activists have put 13 demands in front of Mayor Byron Brown, some more achievable than others. Protestors have also raised the issue of Sheriff Tim Howard’s deadly management of county jails, where 30 inmates have died on his watch. Here’s my two cents on where to go from here. The big picture: We have a big problem with the actions and attitude of law enforcement in Western New York. It’s not a matter of a few bad apples — there are[...]