An ongoing investigation into the murder of a Lewiston woman has led to the suspension of a Buffalo Police Department captain, the BPD said in a Wednesday press release.
The unnamed captain is referred to in a three-day timeline the BPD released, which begins with victim Alexis Skoczylas's approximate time of death on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 14.
Buffalo Police Officer Lance Woods first was suspended with pay Sunday morning before an internal investigation, which included a search of his locker, led to departmental charges being served and Woods suspended without pay.
On the same day, Woods was criminally charged with second-degree murder by a town of Somerset judge, according to the New York State Attorney General's Office.
The unnamed captain has been suspended with pay and first appears in the provided timeline at 4:33 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14, when they are alerted to an inquiry from Skozylas's mother on Woods' whereabouts. The captain appears eight times in the 22-note timeline (see full timeline below), including an in-person discussion with Woods at 7:52 p.m. on Saturday.
Interim Buffalo Police Commissioner Craig Macy said the scope of the internal affairs investigation is that conversation with Woods, which was a "check the welfare" interview following calls from Skozylas's mother.
"I'm not overly happy with the timeline and when other members were notified in the department of this situation," Macy said at a news conference, Wednesday. "And we do have some information that would lead us to believe that there is some rules and regulations that might not have been followed."
Woods was arrested by Cheektowaga and Amherst police officers early the following morning.
"There is a family who lost a daughter. There's two kids that lost a mom, and, it's a possibility that they will be losing contact with their father," said Macy. "And a department member is being charged with murder. There's pretty much no higher charges. So it's concerning and it's sad for everybody."
Timeline provided by the Buffalo Police Department
Saturday, Feb. 14
Saturday a.m. – Alexis Skoczylas’s approximate time of death
4:30 p.m. – Skoczylas’s mother calls Buffalo Police Department’s E-District and asks if someone can get in touch with Officer Lance Woods because she does not have a phone number for him
4:33 p.m. – Buffalo Police Captain is alerted to the situation and given Skoczylas’s mother information
4:42 p.m. – Buffalo Police Captain calls the E-District lieutenant and informs the lieutenant that Officer Woods will have Skoczylas call her mother back in an hour; the lieutenant calls the mother and relays this information
5:12 p.m. – Skoczylas’s sister calls the Erie County non-emergency phone number and is redirected to Niagara County
5:30 p.m. – Skoczylas’s mother calls E-District and says she still has not heard from her daughter; she also relays that the Lewiston Police Department is on the scene at Skoczylas’s residence and that no one is home; she is directed to Buffalo Police Captain
7:00 p.m. – Lewiston Police call E-District looking to speak to a supervisor; this information is relayed to Buffalo Police Captain
7:52 p.m. – Buffalo Police Captain has a discussion with Officer Woods in person at the D-District station house and calls Lewiston Police with him in her presence, confirming Officer Woods has two children with him
8 p.m. – Shift change at D-District station house
8:05 p.m. – Officer Woods leaves; Buffalo Police Captain notifies E-District that he arrived with kids and that they are all leaving the D-District station house
Sunday, Feb. 15
Shortly after 12 a.m. – Lewiston Police discover Skoczylas’s body at her residence
12:45 a.m. – Buffalo Police Department is informed that Skoczylas is a homicide victim and that Officer Woods is a person of interest
1:10 a.m. – Buffalo Police provide investigative resources to attempt to locate the vehicle Officer Woods was believed to be driving
3 a.m. – Officer Woods is detained by patrol units from Amherst and Cheektowaga Police; Buffalo Police Department leadership learns that Officer Woods was at D-District station house before the shift change
7:50 a.m. – Buffalo Police Commissioner Craig Macy officially notifies Buffalo Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division (IAD) of the situation and the Department’s interactions with Skoczylas’s family, Lewiston Police, and Officer Woods
8:57 a.m. – On-call IAD investigators are alerted and head out to the Lewiston Police Department shortly thereafter to follow departmental procedures relating to suspensions
10:24 a.m. – IAD arrives at Lewiston Police Department, where Officer Woods is being interviewed by Lewiston Police Department investigators
11:15 a.m. – IAD suspends Officer Woods with pay
3:00 p.m. – Buffalo Police Captain is relieved of duty for the day
5:30 p.m. (approximately) – A search warrant to retrieve property is executed on Officer Woods’s locker by the Buffalo Police Department
8 p.m. – Buffalo Police Captain is officially suspended with pay pending IAD investigation
Monday, Feb. 16
Internal charges against Woods are drafted by Buffalo Police Department and signed by Commissioner Macy
7:03 p.m. – Officer Woods is served in person by IAD investigators at Orleans Correctional Facility and suspended without pay