The Buffalo Police Department is disbanding a special unit that ostensibly targets gang, guns and drug activity in the face of criticism over what some regard as its heavy-handed tactics.
Police sources confirmed the 19 officers and supervisors in the unit, known as Strike Force, will be reassigned effective March 12. Buffalo Police Captain Jeff Rinaldo told 2 On Your Side on Friday that there are no plans to change the manpower or mission of a related operation known as the Housing Unit, which operates in and around the city’s public housing projects.
Investigative Post in September published a report that documented misconduct on the part of Strike Force and Housing Unit officers. Its reporting turned up ten criminal court cases involving Strike Force and the Housing Unit in which judges tossed out evidence seized by officers on the grounds police had no reasonable justification to conduct the searches. In two of those instances, judges raised questions about the testimony of officers because of conflicting video evidence or its sheer implausibility.
Some defense attorneys characterized Strike Force and Housing Unit officers as “vigilantes” with a “cowboy mentality.”
"When there's a new commissioner, new priorities are set in place and Commissioner Lockwood has decided to make a few changes to begin with and one of them was to reallocate manpower to the traffic division to enhance their mission and their abilities," said Capt. Rinaldo on Friday.
"How much of an influence has community reaction had on this decision?" asked 2 On Your Side's Kelly Dudzik.
"You know, we're obviously aware of community comments. There are members that weren't happy with the Strike Force or mission. I can tell you though those officers worked very diligently. They worked very hard. They made hundreds and hundreds of arrests. They took hundreds of weapons off the street, and at the traffic safety checkpoints, there were hundreds of summonses issued," said Rinaldo.
Meanwhile, the community groups that wanted to see the Strike Force disbanded reacted to Friday's news. They told Investigative Post's Daniela Porat that they feel a sense of restrained optimism.
"They were started to be tough on crime, and we know that's coded language for policing black and brown neighborhoods. So we wanted to disband and abolish the Strike Force and the Housing Unit because we know that they're targeting neighborhoods of color," said Natasha Soto of Just Resisting.
For more on the developing story, please visit Investigative Post.