BUFFALO, N.Y. — A false police report can waste valuable resources and put people in danger, but what happens when someone is accused, and the case doesn’t result in a conviction? A call to police can set a criminal investigation in motion, but according to Erie County District Attorney Mike Keane, determining if a report is intentionally false, and what happens afterward, can be more complicated.

“One of the elements is that it has to be knowingly false,” said Keane.

Keane said his office reviewed 67 original falsely reporting charges in 2024, 37 cases in 2025, and through September of this year, his office has received 29. He said cases can end in guilty pleas or dismissals, depending on the circumstances.

“By talking to the police, by talking to the witnesses, by assessing any physical evidence, including video, audio recordings like 911 calls, and that’s when we weigh in on whether we think it’s a meritorious allegation or not,” said Keane.

Criminal defense lawyer Dominic Saraceno said even when one of these cases ends in an acquittal, online coverage can be difficult to escape.

“Once it gets online, it just spiderwebs all over the place, and it’s just almost impossible to figure out every venue that has reported it,” said Saraceno.

Keane said criminal cases that are dismissed are sealed under the applicable process, but information that has already spread online can be much harder to address. Criminal defense lawyer Paul DerOhannesian said internet publicity, however, can also bring new information into an investigation.

“Because the internet magnifies publicity, it does have an impact on cases, the attention it gets and how the case will be evaluated, and whether it will be reopened and reexamined,” said DerOhannesian.

For people trying to clear their names, the challenge may continue after the court case is over. Keane said there may be a way to better protect people who are found not responsible or not guilty.

“If there was a way to make sure that these things are automatically sealed and that the records of people that are found to be not responsible or not guilty, those records should be sealed,” said Keane. 

For people trying to clear their names, Saraceno said getting a case resolved doesn’t necessarily mean the story ends there.

“We can request that the police report be amended,” said Saraceno. “That’s a difficult task. Oftentimes, the police won’t amend it.”

And even when a case is over, a false accusation can leave a lasting impact between the legal outcome of a case, and what the public remembers.

The Erie County District Attorney’s Office said some cases may qualify for record sealing, depending on how they’re resolved. But, sealing a court record doesn’t necessarily remove online information.