Officer Detail: John C. Garcia

General Information

Name John C. Garcia
OpenOversight ID 84048
Department [NY] Buffalo Police Department
Race Hispanic
Gender Male
Birth Year (Age) Data Missing
First Employment Date 1994-02-04
Number of known incidents 2
Currently on the force No

Assignment History

Job Title Badge No. Unit Start Date End Date
Detective D272 Unknown
Detective Erie County Sheriff 2021-08-10 2021-08-10

Descriptions

  • Field Not Available

    Current Erie County Sheriff pushing for a new jail

Salary

Annual Salary Overtime Total Pay Year
$6,407.00 FY2020

Incidents

Incident 288

Date Apr 11, 2024
Time 11:38 AM
Department Buffalo Police Department
Officers Thomas E. Karbowski , Lucia Esquilin , John C. Garcia , Alphonso(Al) Wright
Description

On April 11th, 2024 Chief of Narcotics and Intelligence for the Erie County Sheriff’s Department Daniel "DJ" Granville, negligently, recklessly, and carelessly drove his county-owned vehicle into eight parked cars on Buffalo’s West Side. 911 recordings from that night reveal multiple callers reporting a hit-and-run. The owner of one of the damaged vehicles claimed in a lawsuit that Granville "was in an impaired condition" at the time of the crashes.

The Buffalo Police Department accident report from that night was signed off by Buffalo Police Lieutenant Lucia Esquilin — who is Granville’s sister-in-law. Five police officers, including Esquilin, are listed as as responding to the 911 calls, along with seven “other personnel.” Granville does not appear to have been given a sobriety test. He was ticketed for driving the wrong way down a one-way street and later paid a $150 fine for jaywalking. Buffalo Police said there was no body camera footage from the responding officers.

His wife, Maria Esquilin Granville — Lieutenant Esquilin’s sister — was a Buffalo police crime technician for more than 11 years. She now works for the Buffalo Sewer Authority.

One witness said the narcotics chief was taken away from the scene in a Buffalo patrol car. His truck and the cars he’d damaged were towed to the city auto impound on Dart Street, while Buffalo cops interviewed witnesses and collected information at the scene.

Outcome

City of Buffalo Response

The City of Buffalo Police Department is conducting an internal affairs investigation, that is likely to focus on the role of Lt. Lucia Esquilin, Granville’s sister-in-law, played in covering up Granville’s crimes. Historically, internal affairs investigations result in no disciplinary action, regardless of the misconduct or the evidence available.

Chris Scanlon, Buffalo's Acting Mayor, has stated that he cannot not comment due to the ongoing internal affairs investigation, and that the accident occurred before he became Acting Mayor. Scanlon was, however, and still is the South District Council Member.

During a Council meeting, Niagara District Council Member David Rivera introduced a letter to Buffalo Police Commissioner Al Wright asking him to attend the next Police Oversight Committee Meeting to discuss what happened. He said that, “it’s important this Common Council go on record just as the legislature that we’re not going to sweep it under the rug, This is not accusatory nor exculpatory. This is trying to find out information on what occurred, the conduct of the officers and whether or not this matter can be referred to the State Attorney General’s Office."

Erie County Response

Several claims related to the crash have cost Erie County taxpayers nearly $60,000 to settle.

Despite this, Granville remains in his position, and there has been no indication of disciplinary action.

Erie County Sheriff John Garcia was asked about the allegations and said, “the Buffalo Police Department is doing an internal affairs investigation, so until that concludes to me it’s a car accident, I haven’t heard otherwise and I think from day one my administration and myself have been transparent in every single case that has come before me and that won’t change, that will continue.”

Garcia has said his office did not conduct its own investigation into whether Granville was intoxicated when he damaged eight vehicles on April 11, 2024.  The sheriff’s Accident Investigation Unit is typically dispatched whenever a county vehicle is involved in a crash. The Sheriff's Office also opens Professional Standards Division investigations into any alleged misconduct by deputies, but there is no indication that was done in Granville's case.  

Erie County Legislature Chairman Tim Meyers said there is a “a lack of transparency” from both the sheriff’s office and the Buffalo Police Department.

The Erie County Legislature on set a date — April 24 — for its own public hearings to investigate the Granville controversy. Legislature Meyers, said legislators have invited Garcia, Granville and Erie County Attorney Jeremy Toth. Garcia has said he will appear before lawmakers to answer questions.
Address Buffalo, NY
 

Incident 242

Date Jun 03, 2013
Department Buffalo Police Department
Officers Joseph M. Cook , John C. Garcia , Daniel Derenda
Description

Police busted down a door of a Breckenridge apartment belonging to Iraqi War combat veteran, Sgt. Adam Arroyo in Buffalo looking for drugs. In the process, the police shot Arroyo's dog Cindy multiple times, killing the dog.

Police claim they read his address wrong. They meant to raid the upstairs front apartment at 304 Breckenridge St, but they became confused and raided the rear apartment. Busting down Arroyo’s door, they found that he was not at home. His dog Cindy, a pit bull, was tethered to the sink in the kitchen.

Detective Joseph Cook, accompanied by a SWAT team of police, chose to stand beyond the length of tether and shoot Cindy, as opposed to wasting the time it would take to get animal control into the house and place the dog in a kennel.

After Cindy was shot, animal control arrived and unloosened her from her bloodied leash. The impact of the bullet had thrown the dog, and it had become entangled around her neck. They were inconvenienced as they unwound her leash and untethered her, removing her carcass in a body bag.

Without realizing it was not the apartment named on the search warrant, police were inconvenienced as they ransacked the apartment. Blood from the dog got on their boots and, despite wiping it off on the carpet, they spread it all over the apartment. Some of it stuck like plague to their boots.
Address Breckenridge
Buffalo, NY

Links

  • 'We need to tighten our borders': Erie County Sheriff sends message after drug busts in Buffalo and
    "What can we do to stop this," Erie County Sheriff John Garcia asked while speaking in Buffalo at a news conference where authorities announced new drug-related arrests. He then answered, "On the national level, we need to tighten our borders." - WKBW
  • No New Jail
    Erie County Sheriff Garcia wants county taxpayers to buy him a new jail, and County Executive Mark Poloncarz plans to allocate $2.5 million for site acquisition, engineering and architectural design to build the jail. Garcia estimates a new jail would cost $200 million. - FTPWNY
  • A purchase by the sheriff with limited value
    The Erie County Legislature has rubber stamped a grant to buy drug detection testers that are inadmissible in court, in part because they're often inaccurate. - Investigative Post | Bruce Rushton
  • Democrats’ fundraiser for GOP sheriff candidate turns noisy, as protesters show up
    A fundraiser for Republican Erie County Sheriff candidate John Garcia at a Richmond Avenue home in Buffalo turned noisy when protesters against the event turned up. At the center of the dispute is outgoing Sheriff Tim Howard, a Republican who is to blame for a long roll call of deaths inside the county Holding Center. - Investigative Post | Mike Desmond
  • Jail deaths substantially higher than reported
    Erie County's two jails are even deadlier than commonly believed. The death toll the past two decades is not in the mid 30s, as previously reported, but 57, many from poor medical care. While Sheriff John Garcia's office cites improvements, the pace of inmate deaths has not lessened under his watch. - Investigative Post | Bruce Rushton
  • Letter by Rep Nick Langworthy to Committee on Appropriations requesting funding for helicopter
    Congressman Langworthy requests funding for Police, Search & Rescue Helicopter Procurement in fiscal year 2025 for the Erie County Sheriff’s Office. - Nick Langworthy
  • Sheriff's Office can leave old office space after new $8M deal is approved
    After intense, last-minute lobbying by the Erie County sheriff and others, the County Legislature voted 10-1 to pay for a 10-year, $8 million lease that enables SWAT and other special units to move into a new space. - Buffalo News | Sandra Tan
  • Smart law enforcement or Big Brother?
    The Erie County Sheriff wants to buy x-ray technology typically used by the military to scan vehicles. The request has raised privacy concerns, especially because no rules have been proposed to govern its use. - Investigative Post | Bruce Rushton

Other videos

Videos

  • Woman sues Erie County Sheriff after her father died at the Erie County Holding Center
    The daughter of a man who died after becoming unresponsive at the Erie County Holding Center is now suing Erie County Sheriff John Garcia. - WKBW
  • Jail deaths substantially higher than reported
    Erie County's two jails are even deadlier than commonly believed. The death toll the past two decades is not in the mid 30s, as previously reported, but 57, many from poor medical care. While Sheriff John Garcia's office cites improvements, the pace of inmate deaths has not lessened under his watch. - Investigative Post | Bruce Rushton