BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo and Erie County lawmakers are demanding answers about an alleged cover-up involving Erie County Sheriff's Office Chief of Narcotics Daniel "DJ" Granville.
Granville crashed into seven parked cars on Buffalo’s West Side last April. His sister-in-law, a Buffalo Police lieutenant, signed off on the police report the night of the incident. Claims surrounding the crash have cost Erie County taxpayers nearly $60,000 in settlements.
Now, county lawmakers have set a date for when they are launching their own investigation. Erie County Legislature Chairman Tim Meyers said the Legislature plans to hold a meeting next month to get to the bottom of what happened.
"This whole thing is about getting the truth," Meyers said. "I want the truth. Everybody wants the truth. So that's what we're going to try to get, and we're going to try to do it in the most efficient way that we can."
He added that lawmakers are waiting for key details before moving forward.
"We're just waiting to get the information that we can get," Meyers said. "We want to be transparent, we want to be productive. We want to get this done as quick as we can. So that's the way we're moving."
Legislators have decided to hold off for now until Buffalo Common Council has its Police Oversight Committee meeting with the Buffalo Police Commissioner who will take questions about what happened that night.
Legislator Lindsay Lorigo said she and her colleagues agreed it makes sense to wait.
“It's my understanding we have had some conversations across, with the other side of the aisle," Lorigo said. "I think it makes sense that we wait for the Buffalo Police Department to conclude their investigation. I think otherwise what would end up happening is we would get all of the people that we want to have in a room, they would be there and unfortunately say they can't speak because of an ongoing investigation. I want this to be a meaningful conversation so once that concludes we can have that."
Buffalo's Police Oversight Committee meeting is set for April 17. The Legislature’s meeting is set for April 24.
Meyers confirmed he is requesting that the sheriff, county attorney and Granville himself attend to answer questions.
