Thursday was a tense day at the Erie County Legislature, where, during a Public Safety Committee meeting, Erie County Sheriff John Garcia spent over three hours answering questions about his controversial handling of his narcotic chief's 2024 property damage incident.
"So I'll answer the question, because I was the one that was first alerted to this by Chief DJ Granville. I didn't ask him if he if, 'oh, hey, were you taking prescription medications? Were you taking illicit drugs?' I didn't ask him. He's the chief of our narcotics unit," Erie County Sheriff John Garcia said, responding to a legislator's question.
In April 2024, Narcotics Chief DJ Granville ran a county-owned truck into several cars on Buffalo's West Side. The case was investigated by Buffalo Police, but Granville did not report the incident to his bosses until the next morning, when the Sheriff's Office would be unable to fully evaluate the scene. Garcia, who was joined by his under Sheriff William Cooley, said that when Granville explained the situation, he also admitted he was struggling with anxiety and depression, and had decided to go to an out-of-state inpatient mental health program immediately after the incident.
"It was my decision to... for him to take that huge leap and do a 30-day inpatient treatment would be the discipline for not reporting an accident in a timely manner," Garcia said to the legislature.
Garcia repeatedly defended his decision to reinstate Granville, including after he was placed on the six week leave following pleading guilty to related misdemeanor charges earlier this year. His lawyer had also revealed in court he had been on prescription medication at the time of the incident.
According to Garcia, Granville is back at work, and when asked by a legislator if he was issued a new truck, Garcia said, "of course." Following the legislature meeting, he continued to defend his decisions to reporters.
"If I took somebody who's suffering from a mental wellness issue that has a stellar career and throw them out in the garbage, would you want to work for me?" Garcia said to reporters. "You know, this is a guy that comes forward. It takes a lot of intestinal fortitude to come forward and say, 'I have a mental wellness [problem].'"
Throughout the meeting, legislators and Garcia went in circles over certain topics. Garcia didn't directly answer certain questions around field sobriety testing and was repeatedly asked why he didn't question Granville the morning after about whether he used medication, prescription or otherwise, the night of the incident. Garcia repeatedly spoke of his trust in the Buffalo Police Department's investigation.
"You know, this is implicit bias going on, that the only way that he hit six or seven cars is he's a cop. He had to be to be drunk," Garcia said. "The problem is, this is what happens, the Buffalo Police officers, you're contending that they were not truthful enough."
County attorney Jeremy Toth also revealed that Granville has not yet started making payments towards the $70,000 he owes in restitution. Toth says that he is still waiting for Granville's attorney to propose a restitution payment plan.
The meeting also brought to light questions around several of the county's policies, including how the Sheriff's Office handles take-home vehicles, like the one issued to Granville. After speaking with reporters following the meeting, things again became heated as a reporter pressed him on how Internal Affairs investigated the situation.
"So the Buffalo Police investigation, you know, they're the ones that were at the scene. And I'm sure, Internal Affairs, I'm sure, did it," Garcia said.
"Did you guys knock on doors? Did you knock on doors and talk to witnesses? And because six Buffalo Police officers were witnesses, did you talk to them?" the individual questioning Garcia said, as Garcia's staff led the sheriff into an elevator.
Garcia's staff told the person to "step back sir" to which the man responded "No, you step back, you're the one that's in the freaking elevator. So close it!" The staff responded "we're trying" and the man again asked "did you interview anyone other than Granville?" before the elevator beeped and shut without Garcia responding.
Garcia also repeated emphasized higher rates of mental health conditions among first responders and his intention to improve resources for his workforce during the meeting. Legislator Taisha St. Jean Tard told a BTPM NPR reporter after that she plans to hold him accountable to that.
"Well, it's budget time. So, if there's a line in the budget for mental health, that's a conversation. If it's not, I will bring it up, because he mentioned it here that that's an effort that he wants to do," St. Jean Tard said.
St. Jean Tard said she felt the meeting was a step forward for the county regarding the situation, but there are still unknowns, including Granville's restitution. Legislature Chairperson Tim Meyers stated he feels the next focus should be getting questions answered by the Buffalo Police who investigated the incident.
