Tag: City Hall

Dec 14

2017

Police refused to cooperate in death probe

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A review of internal Buffalo police records and state law raises questions over the refusal of two officers to cooperate with the attorney general’s office as it investigated the death of Wardel Davis during an encounter with the police in February. The two officers involved, Nicholas Parisi and Todd McAlister, refused to be interviewed by the attorney general’s office about the incident unless they were interviewed together. That’s despite a police department policy that states all employees have a “duty” to “extend their fullest cooperation” to outside agencies investigating possible officer misconduct. A spokesperson for the attorney general declined to comment on[...]

Posted 7 years ago

Nov 8

2017

Failing kids with lead poisoning

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Sherry Slaper was at wit’s end trying to help her lead poisoned daughter. She followed the orders of the Erie County Health Department by painting over the lead paint on her window sills and staircase, throwing away cheap Chinese toys that can contain traces of lead and obsessively cleaning her Kaisertown apartment. But her daughter’s lead levels did not drop. “It was a storm of emotions,” Slaper said. “You go from being angry to scared to sad.” Could it be the water, she thought? To be safe, she installed a water filter on her kitchen faucet. Then — and only[...]

Posted 7 years ago

Nov 3

2017

Buffalo lawmakers seek to contain reporters

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We recently announced an event that will explore how hostile government officials at the federal, state and local level have become to the press, and by extension, the public’s right to know. As if on cue, Darius Pridgen and his colleagues on the Buffalo Common Council underscored that hostility Friday by announcing steps intended to put reporters in their place. In the process, they made themselves look kind of silly, to say nothing of petty. The directive, outlined in a press release you can read here, said the Council will require reporters to sit in a designated area in the[...]

Posted 7 years ago

Sep 26

2017

City Hall agrees to increased police oversight

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City officials, faced with growing concerns over the conduct of Buffalo police officers, agreed Tuesday to form a citizen advisory committee with Open Buffalo, an activist organization. The commitment came during a meeting of the Common Council’s Police Oversight Committee. Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda was in attendance and agreed to the advisory group. Details are to be worked out, and it is unclear whether the advisory panel will have any teeth. “I think [it will] provide more opportunities for folks in our community to be heard and for the police and council members [to] hear more directly from the community[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Sep 25

2017

Buffalo police sued in fatal shooting

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The family of Jose Hernandez-Rossy, the man who was fatally shot by police in May, has filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Buffalo and the police department. The lawsuit alleges that Housing Unit officers Justin Tedesco and Joseph Acquino conducted an illegal stop and search of Hernandez-Rossy and used unjustified deadly force against him. According to the complaint, Hernandez-Rossy was unarmed and dragged from his car and beaten by the two officers prior to the shooting. On Wednesday Investigative Post reported on cases involving a group of officers from Strike Force and the Housing Unit, including[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Sep 25

2017

Heaney discusses Buffalo police on ‘Pressroom

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Jim Heaney tells Susan Arbetter that “Buffalo has a policing problem” on Monday’s edition of The Capitol Pressroom. Arbetter interviewed him about an Investigative Post story from last week that documented unconstitutional searches and other misconduct on the part of the department’s Strike Force and Housing Unit.  

Posted 8 years ago

Sep 13

2017

Assessing Buffalo’s mayoral primary

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A win is a win, and Byron Brown certainly did that Tuesday, capturing a little more than half the vote in a three-way Democratic primary for mayor. The victory sets Brown up for a fourth term, equalling the tenure of Jimmy Griffin. That’s about where the good news ends for the mayor. The numbers are not otherwise kind. Let’s start with his 13,346 votes – the lowest of his four primary runs and little more than half of his total eight years ago. (Mickey Kearns garnered more votes eight years ago in losing to Brown in a landslide. Think about it.)[...]

Posted 8 years ago
Investigative Post