Five Democratic Erie County Legislators have formally asked Governor Kathy Hochul to authorize a state investigation into the incident involving Erie County Sheriff’s Chief of Narcotics, DJ Granville.
In August, Granville pleaded guilty to two traffic misdemeanors for crashing a county-owned truck into seven parked cars on Buffalo's West Side in April 2024.
By state law, Attorney General Letitia James can only open an investigation into the incident at the request of the governor.
The county legislature's majority caucus sent a letter to Hochul with their request. They insist that calling in the AG is the best way to finally get to the bottom of what exactly happened on the night of the crashes almost 18 months ago.
"We need to have an oversight on this whole process, on what took place, and we need to put it to bed," said Erie County Legislator for District 4, John Bargnesi.
The Erie County Sheriff’s Office and the Buffalo Police Department have been accused of a “cover up” in the case by some residents and elected officials, and the lawmakers believe the lack of answers has damaged public trust.
"Transparency has been lacking every step of the way, from the sheriff's office to the officers involved. And taxpayers deserve an answer on how $60,000 of damages occurred and were ignored," Bargnesi said.
If authorized, the investigation would join at least two others -- the Niagara County special prosecutor’s probe and the BPD’s internal affairs investigation. Neither have yet released full details of their findings to the public.
"The Attorney General holds a big badge, and she can bring somebody in and question them," said legislature chair, Tim Meyers.
Though the Erie County Legislature also has subpoena power, Meyers does not believe they have the legal authority to hand down consequences, whereas the AG does.
Hochul was noncommittal about authorizing a state investigation, only saying she would “be willing to have a conversation” with her legal team on the prospect.
In a statement Thursday, Erie County Sheriff John Garcia said the lawmakers’ request is “political theater.” He said any suggestion that his administration participated in a cover up is “patently false,” and added that it was the BPD and not the Erie County Sheriff’s Office who investigated the crashes.
