Did a Sheriff Cause $60K Worth Of Damage In Western New York?

There has been a lot of news lately about law enforcement officers not doing what they're supposed to be doing, including some blatantly breaking the law. It's especially egregious because some of the people we depend on the most to upload the letter and spirit of the law have been misbehaving.

We've seen it with correctional officers walking off the job across the state and with local officers doing a work slowdown to protest being disciplined; now it seems that an LEO in Erie County caused thousands of dollars of damage to the property of citizens and officer got away with a simple fine.

According to WGRZ-TV, a chief in the Erie County Sheriff’s Office was off duty when he drove his county-owned Dodge Ram pickup into multiple vehicles while driving the wrong way down the street on Buffalo's westside.

Did a Sheriff Cause $60K Worth Of Damage In Western New York?

Around midnight on Thursday, April 11, 2024, ECSO Chief Daniel “D.J.” Granville is accused of driving his government vehicle down Jersey Street and crashing into two cars, a Toyota Highlander and Camry, then he allegedly turned down Prospect Avenue, where he hit another Toyota SUV, a Toyota Corolla, a Chevrolet Equinox, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, before stopping after hitting a Dodge minivan.

Seven vehicles were allegedly crashed into, causing nearly $60,000 in damage. Because the crash involved a government vehicle, county taxpayers are on the hook for covering the damages. According to WGRZ-TV, this figure will likely end up being much higher because it does not include the damage to the county pickup driven by Granville.

When the police arrived on the scene to investigate the seven separate vehicle crashes, officers ultimately ticketed Granville for driving the wrong way down a one-way street, which was later reduced to a ticket for jaywalking, and he was fined $150.

Information obtained by WGRZ-TV shows that Chief Granville was not given a breathalyzer and was not arrested for causing so much property damage.

Investigative Post was able to obtain copies of the crash reports, along with a copy of a lawsuit filed against Erie County, and the details are quite telling.

Officials from the Buffalo Police Department Internal Affairs Division are investigating the circumstances surrounding these crashes and the initial charges, or lack thereof, that were issued.