Buffalo Police Department Explained

Agencyname:Buffalo Police Department
Abbreviation:BPD
Logocaption:Seal
Motto:Serving The Community
Preceding1:Niagara Frontier Police District c. 1866
Budget:US$ 131 million (2017–2018)[1]
Country:United States
Countryabbr:USA
Divtype:State
Divname:New York
Subdivtype:City
Subdivname:Buffalo
Sizearea:52.5sqmi
Sizepopulation:260,000
Legaljuris:opsjuris
Governingbody:Mayor of Buffalo, New York
Governingbodyscnd:Buffalo Common Council
Police:Yes
Local:Yes
Headquarters:68 Court Street
Buffalo, NY 14202
Hqlocmap:File:Erie_County_New_York_incorporated_and_unincorporated_areas_Buffalo_highlighted.svg
Sworntype:Police Officer
Sworn:729 (2019)
Unsworn:179 (2019)
Chief1name:Joseph A. Gramaglia
Chief1position:Commissioner
Stationtype:District

The Buffalo Police Department (BPD) is the second-largest city police force in the state of New York. In 2012, it had over nine hundred employees, including over seven hundred police officers.[2]

The Buffalo Police are headquartered at the City of Buffalo Police and Fire Headquarters at the Michael J. Dillon U.S. Courthouse Building on Court Street in Downtown Buffalo.

In 2020, the BPD was in the national spotlight after a video showed BPD officers shoving a 75-year old rioter to the ground, causing a skull injury and bleeding from his head while they walked past him prior to giving him treatment.[3] [4]

History

The City of Buffalo Police Department was established in 1871, taking over for the previous Niagara Frontier Police District (c. 1866[5]) that oversaw not only Buffalo, but also Tonawanda and Wheatfield.[6] The first BPD force had 204 men.

The BPD appointed its first female police officer prior to World War I.[7] The department hired George C. Sarsnett, its first Black policeman in 1919. He served the city for nineteen years dying of natural causes in 1937.[8] The second Black policeman, hired that same year was Oliver M. Bragg. He was promoted to detective and stayed with the police until his retirement in 1946.[7] Fifty-one Buffalo police officers have died in the line of duty. The first of these was George Dill who was shot and killed in 1865.[9]

In 1930 the department changed the design of its badges. Press reports at the time indicated that Mayor Frank X. Schwab had distributed official badges to his friends causing confusion.[10]

BPD was formerly arranged with stations into "precincts" like the NYPD (total 17) but this was replaced with five districts and subdivided into sectors.

In 2018, the BPD, along with the Buffalo Fire Department, moved into a new joint headquarters building in the former Michael J. Dillon Federal Courthouse.[11] The Buffalo Police Commissioner is Joseph A. Gramaglia,[12] he replaced Commissioner Byron C. Lockwood.[13] The 1st Deputy Commissioner is Barbara Lark.[14]

Police misconduct and other controversies

The BPD has a history of police brutality and racial profiling.[15] [16] [17] [18] In its early days, the department primarily served upper-class business interests in Buffalo, in particular to quell labor unrest; business interests controlled the police commissioners and the superintendents. The department has also been accused of retaliation against officers who attempt to stop police misconduct. Accountability measures for police are very weak in Buffalo.[19]

Cariol Horne lawsuit

In 2006, BPD officer Cariol Horne intervened when Gregory Kwiatkowski, a white officer, was choking a handcuffed black suspect.[20] Horne claimed that Kwiatkowski punched her in the face, while Kwiatkowski claimed Horne had jumped on him while he was struggling with the suspect. The incident was not filmed. An internal investigation resulted in no other officer supporting Horne's claims. For her intervention, she was fired and lost her pension one year before it went into effect,[21] whereas Kwiatkowski was shortly thereafter promoted to lieutenant.[22] In 2009, Kwiatkowski was convicted and sentenced to prison after using excessive force on four handcuffed black teenagers.[23] [24] [21] Kwiatkowski was forced to retire after assaulting two other officers in separate incidents, but was permitted to keep his pension.[25] [20] In 2020, in the wake of George Floyd protests, including the Niagara Square shoving incident, white-shoe law firm Kirkland & Ellis launched an action for reinstatement on behalf of Horne.[26] On April 13, 2021, a state court judge vindicated Horne, granting her the back pay and benefits that the BPD had denied her.[27]

Reluctance to arrest child-molesting priests

Press reports in 2019 indicated the Department had an unwritten policy since at least 1968 to not arrest Catholic priests. Although retired officers said they had never released a priest who had had sexual contact with a child, those detained for public masturbation or sexual activity with an adult were released after a phone call to the local diocese. The clergy of other faiths were not offered the same policy.[28]

Niagara Square shoving incident

See main article: Buffalo police shoving incident.

On June 4, 2020, amid the George Floyd protests in New York state, police officers from the Buffalo Police Department pushed 75-year-old Martin Gugino during a confrontation in Buffalo's Niagara Square, causing him to fall to the ground which left him bleeding from the ear. He was brought to the hospital and was in "serious but stable condition."[29] Two days later he was still listed as being in "critical condition" at Erie County Medical Center.[30] He suffered a brain injury as a result of the fall and was still unable to walk nearly two weeks after the assault. The BPD claimed in their official statement that the man "tripped and fell".[31] [32] Following the incident, Buffalo mayor Byron Brown announced impending changes to the BPD.[33]

Districts

The Department has five districts: A-District, B-District, C-District, D-District, and E-District.[34]

District District chief Neighborhoods covered
A Robert Joyce South Buffalo
B Vince Judge Downtown
C Alphonso Wright Eastside
D Joseph Fahey Riverside, North Buffalo
E Carmen Menza University Heights

From 1871 to 1995 police stations were referred to as precincts.[35]

Equipment

Buffalo Police Special Weapons and Tactics

Ranks

TitleInsignia
Commissioner
Deputy Commissioner
Chief
Inspector
Captain
Lieutenant
Detective Sergeant
Detective
Police officer

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Fact Sheet: The City of Buffalo Police Department. December 2017. Partnership for the Public Good. January 23, 2019.
  2. Web site: Buffalo Police, NY Official Website. 2020-06-12 . bpdny.org.
  3. Web site: 75-year-old Buffalo man shoved to ground by police suffered brain injury . 2020-06-14 . NBC News . June 12, 2020 . en.
  4. News: Vigdor . Neil . Victor . Daniel . Hauser . Christine . 2020-06-05 . Buffalo Police Officers Suspended After Shoving 75-Year-Old Protester . en-US . The New York Times. 2020-06-14 . 0362-4331.
  5. Web site: Manual of the Niagara Frontier Police Force of the State of New York by Niagara Frontier Police District on the Lawbook Exchange, Ltd .
  6. Harring . Sidney L. . McMullin. Lorraine M. . 1975 . The Buffalo Police 1872—1900: Labor Unrest, Political Power and the Creation of the Police Institution . Crime and Social Justice . 4 . 5–14 . 29765953 . 0094-7571.
  7. Web site: History of Black Police Officers . Buffalo Police Then & Now . 6 June 2020.
  8. News: 19-Year Police Career Halted by Death . 6 June 2020 . Buffalo Evening News . 9 February 1937.
  9. Web site: Buffalo Police Department, New York. 31 May 2019. Officer Down Memorial Page.
  10. News: Police Ask New Badge to End Use of Old Ones by "Friends" . 6 June 2020 . Buffalo Evening News . 3 October 1930.
  11. News: Buffalo Police Department begins move to new headquarters . Williams . Deidre . 2018-09-10 . The Buffalo News . 2019-01-24 . en-us.
  12. Web site: Contact Information Buffalo Police, NY. 2022-06-01. bpdny.org.
  13. Web site: Buffalo Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood retires from the department after 38 years. 2022-06-01. wgrz.com. 24 February 2022 . en-US.
  14. Web site: Contact Information Buffalo Police, NY. 2022-06-01. bpdny.org.
  15. News: Heaney. Jim. 2020-06-06. The Terrifying History of Bad Cops in Buffalo. en. The Daily Beast. 2021-04-14.
  16. Web site: i_beebe. 2020-06-10. A black Buffalo cop stopped another officer's chokehold. She was fired.. 2020-06-14. CSNY. en.
  17. Web site: 2020-06-01. Buffalo has its own cases of police brutality – especially against people of color . Matthew . Spina . 2020-06-14. The Buffalo News. en-us.
  18. Web site: admin. 2016-07-13. Checkpoint Buffalo: Are the BPD's traffic stops unconstitutional?. 2020-06-14. CSNY. en.
  19. Web site: Kelly. Geoff. 2020-07-29. City Hall inertia on one-sided police contract. 2021-04-14. Investigative Post.
  20. News: Police Punish the 'Good Apples' . . July 1, 2020 . Musa . al-Gharbi . July 2, 2020 .
  21. News: Justin . Sondel . Hannah . Knowles. 2020. George Floyd died after officers didn't step in. These police say they did — and paid a price.. The Washington Post. July 2, 2020 .
  22. News: Bromwich. Jonah E.. 2021-04-14. Court Vindicates Black Officer Fired for Stopping Colleague's Chokehold. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-04-14. 0362-4331.
  23. Web site: 2020-06-11. Take this dispute to court: Firing of Buffalo police officer deserves measured consideration. 2020-06-12. Buffalo News .
  24. Web site: 2020-06-11. Ex-Buffalo cop gets 4 months in prison in 2009 excessive force case . 2020-06-12. Buffalo News .
  25. News: Fired cop says she tried to stop another from choking suspect . theindychannel.com. December 22, 2014 . July 2, 2020 .
  26. News: Fired Buffalo police officer who contends she stopped another cop from choking a man finds new support — in Chicago . Annie . Sweeney . Chicago Tribune . October 26, 2020 . November 8, 2020 .
  27. Web site: Reporter. Maki Becker News Staff. Fired Buffalo police officer wins lawsuit, will get her pension. 2021-04-21. The Buffalo News. April 13, 2021 . en.
  28. News: Hebeck . Dan . Marching orders kept Buffalo cops from arresting child-molesting priests . 26 May 2019 . The Buffalo News . 19 May 2019.
  29. News: Miller. Ryan W.. Culver. Jordan. Robinson. David. Hauck. Grace. Taddeo. Sarah. 2 Buffalo cops charged with assault after video shows officers shoving 75-year-old man to the ground. en-US. USA TODAY. June 6, 2020.
  30. Web site: DeDario. Lindsay. June 9, 2020. Buffalo police arraigned for felony assault, elderly protestor still critical. June 11, 2020. Reuters.
  31. Web site: Elisha Fieldstadt. June 12, 2020. The 75-year-old man shoved to ground by Buffalo police suffered brain injury, lawyer says. June 12, 2020. NBC News.
  32. Web site: Buffalo protester Martin Gugino has a fractured skull and cannot walk. CNN. 16 June 2020.
  33. Web site: Buffalo adopts policing changes after protester is hurt . 2020-06-14 . The Associated Press . Star Tribune . 2020-06-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200614194744/https://www.startribune.com/buffalo-adops-policing-changes-after-protester-is-hurt/571174682/ . dead .
  34. Web site: Buffalo, NY. 2021-04-16. buffalony.gov.
  35. Web site: Buffalo Police Department History . bpdthenandnow.com . Cindy . Diem . Michael . Kaska .