BUFFALO, N.Y. — The internal file on Kenneth Achtyl, the former Erie County Sheriff's Deputy who was found guilty of assaulting a Bills fan during a 2017 tailgate, just resurfaced after it was missing for three weeks.
"We found out the document was missing from a filing by an attorney that represents the county and the sheriffs, and obviously when we learned that a document in this day and age of this significance was missing, obviously we found that extremely surprising and very peculiar," said attorney Aaron Glazer, who represents Nicholas Belsito in a lawsuit against Erie County stemming from the incident.
Achtyl was accused of assaulting then-25-year-old Belsito during a tailgate at a New Era Field parking lot on December 3, 2017. Achtyl hit Belsito in the face with his police baton, and Belsito suffered a broken nose and a concussion.
In September of 2019, Achtyl was found guilty by a jury of assault in the third degree, official misconduct and falsifying records.
As was first reported in The Buffalo News, Achtyl's internal review documents resurfaced, allowing the public to see what the Erie County Sheriff's Standards division reported when it cleared Achtyl of any wrongdoing.
The two-page review says deputies looked at a two-second video, along with pictures and a longer video taken after the arrest. It states that an FBI Special Agent in Charge and Erie County's Defensive Tactics instructor found Achtyl's use of force was reasonable.
The documents state that Achtyl resigned shortly after he was found guilty and that the review was closed.
But Glazer points out that the report does not state that deputies reviewed the body camera footage of the assault.
"It seems to me the most relevant piece of evidence is the body cam video. Jurors in Mr. Achtyl's criminal trial thought that was the most relevant piece of evidence, and I would think that formed the basis for his conviction to a great extent. It was just never even looked at in the course of this investigation, as far as I can read from the document," Glazer said.
For some perspective, 2 On Your Side went to former New York State trooper and local attorney John Elmore. We asked if the two-page report is standard compared to other internal review documents.
"Every police department has a different standard for internal procedures or investigations. They vary from police department to police department. This is very thin, this is very inadequate," Elmore said.
2 On Your Side reached out to the Erie County Sheriff's Office for comment, a spokesperson said he could not speak about the details of the investigation.