LOCKPORT — A press released from the Niagara County District Attorney’s office featured a statement from District Attorney Brian Seaman:
“Today at my office’s request, the Buffalo Police Department issued three vehicle and traffic citations to Daniel J. Granville for incidents occurring on April 11, 2024. Mr. Granville is charged with three counts of leaving the scene of a property damage accident without reporting, in violation of Vehicle and Traffic Law §600(1)(a), occurring on Jersey Street and Prospect Avenue in the City of Buffalo. My office continues to investigate this matter. There will be no further comment at this time.”
Granville, the Erie County Sheriff’s chief of narcotics, last April, allegedly crashed his county-owned pickup truck into at least seven parked cars on Buffalo’s West Side.
The Niagara County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the case after Erie County District Attorney Mike Keane asked a judge for a special prosecutor to avoid an appearance of a conflict of interest.
There is a one-year statute of limitation on vehicle and traffic offenses.
A charge is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Additionally, five BPD officers were placed on administrative leave over the incident, including Lieutenant Lucia Esquilin, Granville’s sister-in-law, who reportedly signed off on the accident reports from that night; Officer Brittany Bartels, Officer Thomas Karbowski, Officer Lisa Perillo, and Officer Omar Tirado.