Court docket Forbes v. City of Rochester et al allegedly names officer Thomas Lisle. The Case Number is 6:2021cv06457 and the Nature of Suit is Prisoner: Civil Rights

Lt. Perkowski was allegedly involved in the cover-up of the murder of a civilian

Officer Kevin Murphy arrested Lakisha Neal, 42, on March 25, 2020. Body camera footage shows Murphy grabbing Neal, cursing and twice spraying her with pepper spray while other officers do nothing to intervene other than telling Neal to cooperate.

“Get in the car or get sprayed!” Murphy demands after grabbing Neal by the arm and forcing her to a patrol car. Murphy deploys pepper spray after Neal says she’s pregnant.

“Will y’all listen to me?” Neal asked seconds before Murphy sprayed her. As tears from the first spraying run down Neal’s face, Murphy sprayed again after Neal tells him that she can’t breathe.

Neal was arrested and charged with making a false report, obstruction, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest.

Outcome

All charges against Neal were dismissed.

Former Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood fired Murphy.

An arbitrator upheld the Buffalo Police Department's firing of Murphy for excessive force and falsely stating that Neal had admitted telling a dispatcher that a gun was at the address. The arbitrator found that Murphy knew that Neal didn’t have a gun and that he’d failed to use de-escalation techniques.

However, the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association asked the arbitrator to overturn the decision reached after Murphy collected more than $276,000 in salary from the city while his disciplinary case was pending. Erie County Supreme Court documents dating to 2013 show no other cases of either the city or the police union asking a judge to reverse an arbitrator’s decision on whether an officer should be fired.

The union during arbitration proceedings argued that Murphy didn't use excessive force and did not deserve termination. The union maintained, Officers aren’t prohibited from handcuffing or deploying pepper spray on pregnant women and Murphy testified that women seeking leniency sometimes lie about being pregnant, according to arbitration records filed by the union in the lawsuit.

Supreme Court Judge Amy Martoche threw out the arbitrator’s decision upholding the termination of a Buffalo Police Officer Kevin Murphy fired. Judge Martoche ruled in her August 20, 2024 decision that arbitrator Jeffrey Selchick improperly failed to consider testimony from three witnesses, including Officer Allan May, who teaches use of force techniques at the department’s training academy, retired Lt. Michael Alberti, who worked in internal affairs, and former Buffalo Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood.

Lockwood during an arbitration proceeding claimed that Neal’s verbal resistance to Murphy justified the officer physically removing her from a porch, union lawyer Rodney Personius wrote in a brief urging Martoche to overturn the arbitrator’s decision that upheld the firing. Lockwood also acknowledged that Neal continued resisting Murphy, even after she was pepper-sprayed, Personius wrote.

The city could put Murphy back on the force or, alternatively, ask the Fourth Appellate Division to overturn Martoche’s decision, or attempt to hold a new arbitration proceeding on the same issues.

Magri was one of the seven Rochester Police Department officers suspended due to their involvement in the arrest of Daniel Prude

Outcome

suspension

Allegedly involved in the cover up of the murder of a civilian

Bello was at the scene as civilian was brutalized, resulting in his death, and did nothing to intervene in the horrific violence, nor reported it. Nor did Bello or speak out about it after, becoming part of a widespread coverup.

Outcome

No charges have been brought against any of the officers directly involved or those who stood by, or those who knew of the extreme brutality and did not report it.

On the night of December 29, 2019 Buffalo Police Officers Mitchell J. Thomas II and Mitchell R. Thomas initiated a traffic stop. William Fugate was a passenger in the backseat of the vehicle. According to prosecutors, Fugate tried to flee from the vehicle. They also claim that while Fugate was running away, he pointed a gun at the officers.

The officers fired their guns at Fugate and struck him four times. Fugate was found a short time later hiding in a backyard. He was taken to Erie County Medical Center for treatment of the gunshot wounds to the side of his body.

Prosecutors claim a "loaded, illegal pistol" was found in Fugate's "flight path." However, Fugate disputeed the police version of events.

Outcome

No charges were filed against the officers.

While media reports said that Fugate pled guilty to a weapons possession charge, there are no court records that confirm this. Fugate did plead guilty to a possession with intent to distribute charge in 2021 after prosecutors claim a warrant was executed at a residence that Fugate was present at and 13 ounces of methamphetamine were found in a locked safe.

On December 7, 2019 at approximately 12:21 a.m. Buffalo Police Officer Andrew Whiteford in coordination with Officer Charles Miller planted cocaine in Cheryl Stephens's car to create the premise for her false arrest.

Outcome

The City of Buffalo settled a civil case for damages for $65,000. No known disciplinary actions against the officers have been taken.

During a traffic stop, Dep. Turner of CCSO detained passenger and migrant farmworker Luis Ulloa until US Border Patrol arrived, in apparent violation of the department's Fair and Impartial Policing Policy. Luis was later deported to Mexico.

According to Spectrum news, DeVincentis chased a victim and there was fighting for several minutes

Outcome

none

According to court documents, one 8th grade victim was waiting to be picked up by their mother from a school bus that had stopped and the driver called dispatch because other students had gotten into an altercation when RPD officers Edwards, Sterling, Pedicone, and Mendez approached the bus aggressively with mace. After the bus driver opening the door to let the child victim out, saying out-loud that they were not one of the students in the fight, the officers pushed, maced, forced to the ground and arrested both the child and an adult victim attempting to pick up the child with their mother.

Outcome

Court case undergoing mediation. No disciplinary actions

Buffalo Officers Kyle T Moriarity and Christopher Bridgett attacked, assaulted, and seized Dean Taylor, a Black man, without just cause or provocation, while he stood on a street corner taking a video of police activity down the street. Moriarity and Bridgett struck Taylor numerous times, dragged him to a police vehicle and handcuffed him behind his back.

Cpl. Chad Bean shot and killed a 62-year old man after responding to call of an attempted break-in. Chief Medical Examiner determined cause of death was “homicide/shot by police.”

According to City of Rochester public records, Officer Allen plead guilty to the New York State violation disorderly conduct in Niagara Falls, NY City Court. There is no further information on the disorderly conduct charge.

Outcome

Officer Allen received ten days' suspension without pay

del Pozo harassed a local activist on social media, lied about it to the press, and then eventually admitted it and resigned when presented with evidence.

Police pulled over Bruce McNeil, a city resident, in May 2019 for a vehicle violation. The officers searched McNeil’s car, found nothing, and let him go without even a ticket for the license plate bulb they claimed was not working.

McNeil was mad about the stop. He believed his civil rights were violated, that they had no right or reason to search his car. And he found damage on the hood that he said police caused during the search.

McNeil went to file a complaint against the officers with Internal Affairs and he alleged in a civil lawsuit that a lieutenant on duty refused to accept his complaint and threatened to arrest him for possession of drugs if he did not leave.

McNeil left, but came back to the police station, this time with his mother, who demanded that he get a complaint filed. Police then arrested him on charges of possession of crack cocaine. The two officers alleged in the police report that they found the crack cocaine after a sweep of the police vehicle in the vicinity of where McNeil sat.

A judge did not believe the story. McNeil was acquitted by a bench trial and is now suing the city and the police officers for wrongful arrest.

During the arrest of several demonstrators during a protest at the statehouse, VCP Chief Romei threatened to arrest several journalists who attempted to document the event.

According to a suit, Officer Hasper made a false and retaliatory arrest and used excessive force in connection with the arrest

Officer Cory Campbell punched Douglas Kilburn, who died three days later. Kilburn's death was ruled a homicide, but the attorney general did not pursue charges against Campbell. Campbell had responded to a University of Vermont Medical Center call that Kilburn was irate. After Kilburn saw his wife and was in his car outside, Campbell approached Kilburn again and told him to "shut the fuck up and leave", after which Kilburn left his car, punched Campbell, and Campbell punched him back, eventually killing him.

Buffalo Police officers forcibly removed from a vehicle and mercilessly beat Robert Closs, a 78 year old man who was well known to the Buffalo Police Department as a citizen with mental health problems. Closs died approximately three weeks later from blunt force trauma caused by the brutality.