The Terrifying History of Bad Cops in Buffalo
No fewer than four men of color have died as the result of encounters with Buffalo police in the past three years. Then a 75-year-old got knocked down.
Jim Heaney
Published Jun. 06, 2020
This story was published in partnership with Investigative Post, a non-profit investigative reporting center in Buffalo, New York.
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First there was Wardel “Meech” Davis, stopped in February 2017 by police officers who later refused to cooperate with investigators. In May of that year, Jose Hernandez-Rossy was shot as he reportedly fled police. Rafael “Pito” Rivera was shot as he ran from police in September 2018. Marcus Neal was shot by police after they cornered him on a rooftop in December 2018.
Then there was the settlement earlier this year in which the city paid Wilson Morales $4.5 million after police shot and paralyzed him in 2012. Both cops involved in the shooting have since been promoted.
The problem—besides the “protect the shield” mentality that permeates the department and a union contract that long ago stripped administrators of any semblance of management rights— is a lack of police accountability.
New York’s notorious 50-a law pretty much prohibits the disclosure of police disciplinary records, and the department’s Internal Affairs unit takes it from there. Investigative Post, in a February 2017 story, reported that Internal Affairs cleared officers of wrongdoing in 94 percent of the cases it investigated during a nearly three-year period.
Little wonder that a survey several years ago of inner-city residents found close to half of them weren’t comfortable calling the police in an emergency.
more:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/the-terrifying-history-of-bad-cops-in-buffalo?via=newsletter&source=Weekend
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