4 years ago
On Saturday, October 15th at 3:30 AM, the lives of two men, Peter Cutler and Keith A. Borders, came together through a downtown accident.
Borders, a motorcycle service technician, was waiting at a red light on his Harley Davidson motorcycle at the intersection of Tupper and Delaware.
Peter Cutler is the former Communications Director for Mayor Masiello and now is the same for Mayor Brown. At the time of the accident, Cutler was not employed by City government, and was a volunteer for Brown?s election campaign.
Buffalo police reports state a car driven by Cutler hit the back of Border's motorcycle. The report states it was a ?hit and run with injury?.
?Mr. Cutler then proceeded to leave the scene, and my client chased him for a period of time," said Jim Partacz, an attorney hired by Borders.
Buffalo police reports indicate Cutler drove away from the accident scene and ran over an NFTA bus stop sign.
?Mr. Cutler drove through many of the streets of Buffalo," said Partacz.
The police report shows Borders followed Cutler on his motorcycle all over the west side. A police phone log from that night shows Borders called cops from his cell phone at least three times.
The report states Cutler got out of his car at the corner of Winter and Massachusetts and took off.
Police saw Cutler a few blocks away, standing in front of a house on the 400-block of Breckenridge. Police arrested Cutler in a backyard, and charged him with leaving the scene of an accident and obstructing governmental administration.
There?s nothing in the police reports that show a Breathalyzer was needed or administered.
Attorney Roger Doyle answered questions on Cutler?s behalf, such as:
2 On Your Side?s Stefan Mychajliw: ?Why he left the scene, or if he was drinking that night?"
Attorney Roger Doyle: ?I have no knowledge of any drinking by Mr. Cutler that night at all."
Mychajliw: ?Why did he leave the scene if he did nothing wrong?"
Doyle: ?He was confronted by a motorist who was extremely angry, very agitated, yelling, waving his arms and Mr. Cutler did the prudent thing, he left the scene."
What happened next has Borders? attorney raising questions over how the Erie County D.A.?s office handled Cutler?s criminal case.
Borders? attorney wrote Buffalo City Court a letter on October 21st, asking for information on Cutler?s criminal case.
But by then, the case was already over.
Mychajliw: ?What do you think is going on here?"
Partacz: ?Obviously it was brushed under the rug."
Three days after his arrest, October 18th, Cutler entered a plea deal with the D.A. on the case to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct, a violation, and given time served.
Partacz: ?I've never seen a case start and end in three days."
Mychajliw: ?Do you feel as though Mr. Cutler was given preferential treatment because of his ties to the Mayor??
Partacz: ?It appears that way."
Mychajliw: ?Did he at any time tell police about his ties to the Mayor?"
Doyle: ?Not that I am aware of. Not that I am aware of at all."
2 On Your Side took these questions straight to Erie County District Attorney Frank Clark. He tells us the prosecutor on Cutler?s case never approved this plea deal with a supervisor.
Mychajliw: ?Some can think okay, hit and run, he's arrested, three days later he cops a plea. Something fishy here?"
Erie County District Attorney Frank Clark: ?I didn't start in this business yesterday. And when I looked at the file, I said why was this resolved on the initial appearance? And my eyebrows go cocked. What happened? It was a mistake. Yes it was. We had a young lawyer. Just two weeks on the job."
2 On Your Side talked to that prosecutor on the phone. He no longer works for the D.A.?s office. He told Mychajliw he was never aware of Cutler?s connections to the Mayor?s office during his handling of this case.
Mychajliw: ?The victim's attorney believes that there may have been preferential treatment here, because he's Peter Cutler."
Clark: ?No one ever contacted our office in regard to this case, not Cutler, not anybody from the city administration, not Cutler's attorney, not anybody. The mistake in taking the plea at the time of the plea was taken was our mistake."
Mychajliw: ?How rare is it that someone gets arrested, then three days later cops a plea, then gets time served?"
Clark: ?It's rare that you plead on your initial appearance. That doesn't happen. That is contrary to our policy."
Mychajliw: ?Frank Clark calls this a mistake."
Doyle: ?If a District Attorney made a mistake that should not fall on Mr. Cutler's shoulders."
Cutler?s criminal case is over. Borders? lawyer says he will file a civil suit against Cutler, but hasn?t done so yet.
This won?t be the first time Borders? filed a civil suit after an accident. Borders was the passenger in a van when it was hit from behind in 1997. Borders sued the company that owned the car that hit him.
That case was settled out of court.
Mychajliw: "You're filing a lawsuit?"
Partacz: "Yes, for his injuries and damages caused by the accident."
Mychajliw: "How injured can your client be if he got on his motorcycle and chased Mr. Cutler?"
Partacz: "He's injured. At this present time we don't know the extent of it. He's inured to the point where he cannot go back to work. He's been off work since the date of the accident."
Hospital records show Keith Borders went to the Kenmore Mercy Emergency room after the accident. A doctor at Buffalo Spine Surgery wrote in a report: ?I do believe the injuries I am treating him for?are related to his motorcycle versus motor vehicle accident.?
"When you have a situation like this, there's a certain amount of adrenaline that takes over," said Partacz.
Mychajliw: "You've talked to Mr. Cutler, does he express any kind of remorse or regret for what happened?"
Doyle: "I don't think anyone is happy at all about what happened. Especially Mr. Cutler."
2 on your side asked the Buffalo Police Department to release Peter Cutler's mug shot from that night. WGRZ filled out a Freedom of Information request for the photo.
It was denied.
It is the City of Buffalo's policy not to release mug shots.
Cutler continues to work as the Mayor's Communications Director. He's the person who sets up interviews for news reporters.
Keith Borders is not back to work as a motorcycle service technician.
