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Attorney General wants records, will BPD comply?

New York’s Attorney general is requesting information from the City of Buffalo about its policing practices. Whether it complies with the request is another story.

BUFFALO, NY — Civil rights groups say they are encouraged that the office of New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has now gotten involved in some of the concerns they’ve raised about the Buffalo Police Department (BPD).

These include complaints that random "traffic safety checkpoints" are unfairly targeting motorists likely to be minorities.

Two On Your Side has been trying since this past summer to get detailed information about the checkpoints.

However, what we've received (primarily courtesy of common council president Darius Pridgen who was also seeking the information) have been somewhat skimpy on specifics.

Documents released publicly regarding the checkpoints were redacted in terms of precisely where they were conducted, which had been the whole point of investigating claims that they were being held in primarily minority neighborhoods.

As WGRZ-TV first reported on Wednesday, Schneiderman's office, in response to a complaint filed by Black Lives Matter, sent a letter to the city’s attorney requesting among other things:

- Documents describing the date, location, and rationale for all vehicle checkpoints and roadblocks conducted by the BPD for the past three years.
-Documents describing policies, practices and/or procedures for selecting vehicle checkpoint or roadblock locations.
-Instructions or guidelines provided to officers and supervisors on how to conduct vehicle.

The letter requests that the information be provided by Dec. 20.

“We are really glad that the Attorney General is looking at it,” said Claudia Wilner, a Senior Attorney with the National Center for Law and Economic Justice, which went to court in its effort to obtain records regarding the checkpoints.

“There are critical issues surrounding the checkpoints and their potentially discriminatory operation in low income communities of color," said Wilner, who told WGRZ-TV she expects a judge to rule later this month on their case.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s office did not immediately reply to an e-mail from Two on Your Side asking what the AG planned to do with the information once it is provided.

“It is possible that the Attorney General would use the information to bring an action against the city of Buffalo," said Dennis Vacco, a Buffalo lawyer who himself served as New York’s Attorney General from 1995 to 1998.

However, after reviewing the letter sent by the AG’s office to the city’s Corporation Council, Vacco also noted that it amounted to a “request” and not an official subpoena, which would legally compel the city to turn over the information.

“Typically, you don’t want to deny the request of the Attorney General,” said Vacco. “But the city’s Corporation Counsel (Tim Ball) represents the City of Buffalo, so he has to give consideration as to whether he will just routinely comply with a request which, in essence, could give up information that could potentially be used against the city.”

Meanwhile the Attorney General is also asking the city to also provide information on police enforcement in and around public housing projects, after complaints by groups including Black Lives Matter, of "suspicionless" trespassing patrols, which opponents claim are unconstitutional.

A Buffalo Police spokesperson, outside of insisting the stops are in no way racially motivated, says he can offer no further comment due to possible litigation.

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