BUFFALO, N.Y. — Erie County Sheriff John Garcia announced on Thursday the formation of a new task force aimed at following up on those who make threats for things like mass shootings. It is in response to the massacre at the Tops Market on Jefferson Avenue and other mass shootings around the country.
The Erie County Sheriff's Office Behavioral Threat Assessment Team will work to intervene when threats are made in hopes of preventing them from being carried out and is hoped to be operational by the end of summer.
It is being fashioned after a similar task force formed by the Monroe County Sheriff's Department.
Falling Through The Cracks
Prior to coming to Buffalo, the accused shooter in the May 14 massacre at Top Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue, 18-year-old Payton Gendron, had actually been arrested under mental hygiene laws, and evaluated as a result of some of the things he was saying and doing.
He was released following the evaluation with no follow up.
"We want to be ahead of the curve and not wait until something like this happens," said Garcia. "We need to fill the cracks because falling through the cracks is not acceptable."
According to Garcia, would be follow up more stringently on such individuals, which could involve surveillance of their movements, monitoring of their internet activity, and visits to their home.
"This may not even involve handcuffs so much as just intervention," Garcia said.
Garcia also hopes to have local school districts sign memorandums of understanding where districts agree to report on students who make threats or exhibit unusual behavior which in the estimation of administrators or teachers may lead to violence.
Special Training
The Secret Service and the FBI are adept in tracking down threats made to the president and other government leaders, and those agencies, according to Garcia, have agreed to share some of the nuances of their tactics and investigatory means with task force members.
"All the deputies that are going to be part of this team are going to get the best training from the U.S. Secret Service and Department of Justice," said Garcia. "They will all have certification on how to identify behaviors and how to act upon these threats."
"We do this for the County Executive when he gets threats, we do this for the President of the United States when he gets threats, but then a young boy or girl in school gets a threat, then who follows up for their safety?" asked April Baskin, Chairperson of the Erie County Legislature which will provide the primary funding for the new operation.
The sheriff still doesn't know how many people might be assigned to to this new team, or therefore how much in funding it might need.
However, Baskin pledged her full support for delivering the resources needed once they are identified.