Erie County Sheriff John Garcia offered a qualified defense of DJ Granville, the sheriff’s office’s embattled chief of narcotics, after Granville pleaded guilty Friday to two traffic misdemeanors for crashing a county-owned truck into seven parked cars on Buffalo's West Side, last year.
In a statement released just after Granville’s appearance in Buffalo City Court, Garcia said that Granville exhibited “terrible judgment,” but he argued the incident shouldn’t overshadow the narcotics chief’s “stellar career.”
“I, for one, do not feel he — nor anyone — should have his career defined by one night,” Garcia said in a statement. “His efforts have undoubtedly saved countless lives in our community and taken many bad actors off of our streets.”
Garcia also pointed out that Granville had started seeking treatment for “physical and mental health issues” in the days before the accident and “availed himself” to an “employee wellness program” afterward. That information was confidential until Granville’s attorney volunteered it in court.
“Everyone at the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, especially those in command positions, needs to be held responsible for their actions. While he should have taken responsibility sooner, D.J. has done so today," said Garcia.
The crash, which occurred in April 2024, was not made public until the Investigative Post broke the story in March 2025. Police records show that Granville was not tested for sobriety and that his sister-in-law was the supervising Buffalo Police Department officer on the scene of the accident. Granville admitted to taking prescription drugs around the time of the crash, but prosecutors say they were unable to determine whether he was drinking alcohol at the time of the crash.
Granville — who also pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of a property damage accident, a traffic citation — was ordered to pay $550 in fines and complete 50 hours of community service. Granville was suspended without pay after spending months on paid administrative leave.
The sheriff’s office is continuing an internal investigation into the crash.
Garcia’s defense comes as at least one member of the Buffalo Common Council, Niagara District Councilmember David Rivera, is asking the New York State Attorney General’s Office to investigate possible misconduct by the Buffalo Police Department.
Rivera wants to know why charges weren’t filed against Granville sooner, whether BPD tested Granville’s sobriety and why the incident remained out of the public record for the better part of a year. The Attorney General’s Office has so far not responded to his request.
“The public deserves answers on how the Buffalo Police Department responded to this incident,” Rivera, whose district includes the site of the crash, said in a statement Friday. “To have trust between our citizens and our law enforcement, we must continue these investigations and demonstrate full transparency and accountability to the residents of Buffalo.”
Rivera said he is also waiting to see how BPD Commissioner Alphonso Wright plans to proceed with the officers who responded to the scene of the crash. Those officers are currently on administrative leave.
