Erie County legislators say the sheriff’s new assigned vehicle policy does not fully address their concerns following the D.J. Granville fallout.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Erie County legislators are raising concerns about the sheriff’s newly assigned vehicle policy, saying it does not go far enough to address questions stemming from the fallout around D.J. Granville.
The sheriff faced tough questions Thursday about the updated policy, which includes new rules governing the personal use of county-owned vehicles. Among the provisions, deputies are prohibited from driving their assigned vehicles within eight hours of consuming any amount of alcohol.
Some legislators said the policy leaves unanswered questions about how certain situations would be handled.
“It doesn’t mention everything you need, such as if there’s an incident, how is that reported? They explained that to us today, but it wasn’t involved there. If there is a DUI, how does that really be taken care of?” said Taisha St. Jean Tard.
Sheriff John Garcia said the policy reflects the best approach given current resources and pushed back on criticism of the process.
“We’re spending an hour and a half talking on something that I think is politically driven about vehicles because of the DJ Granville incident. And the system is not broken. It works very efficiently and effectively and fiscally responsible,” Garcia said.
Garcia said he plans to spend the next year and a half reviewing the vehicle policy and other procedures. Meanwhile, some legislators say they hope to work with him on potential changes by the end of the month.