The City of Buffalo will award $110,000 to an Iraq War veteran whose pit bull was shot and killed by Buffalo police.
Another man will get $75,000 for injuries he sustained while being detained by police.
And the city will pay $600,000 to a woman injured in an accident with a Buffalo Fire Department vehicle that was responding to an emergency call.
All of the incidents happened in 2013.
The pit bull was shot during a police narcotics raid at Adam Arroyo's apartment on Breckenridge Street near Grant Street. Arroyo filed a federal court lawsuit in 2015 claiming the dog's death was the result of a botched police search and that detectives ignored warnings from neighbors, who reportedly told police they had the wrong apartment, The Buffalo News reported that year.
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The search warrant that police left for Arroyo, who was not home at the time of the raid, listed the upper apartment at the Breckenridge Street address. But there are two upstairs apartments and Arroyo insisted that police targeted the wrong one, The News reported following the June 2013 incident.
Police did not find drugs in the apartment during the search, said Common Council Majority Leader David A. Rivera, following a Claims Committee meeting Wednesday.
The $110,000 recommended by Corporation Counsel Timothy A. Ball to settle the case is about more than the killing of the dog, Rivera said. It also involves the search warrant, although Rivera said he did not know if that meant police "hit the wrong house."
"My understanding is that there might be something wrong with the search warrant itself. That's why they're settling it for such a large amount, combined with the destruction of the dog," said Rivera, who represents the Niagara District and worked as a Buffalo police officer from 1982 to 2008.
Committee Chairman Mitchell P. Nowakowski, who represents the Fillmore District, said "There were multiple problematic instances with the claim that justified the amount." Nowakowski did not provide details.
Gary Marcinkowski will receive $75,000 after he was involved in a physical altercation with two Buffalo police officers, who forcibly restrained him at Mercy Hospital in September 2013.
"He went to the hospital seeking some form of treatment and BPD ended up responding and (Marcinkowski) sustained an injury while being detained by BPD," Nowakowski said.
According to State Supreme Court documents from 2014, Marcinkowski claimed he went to the hospital complaining of anxiety and told hospital staff he was concerned given his history of heart attacks. He was taken to a hospital room and left with hospital security personnel for several hours, the documents said. Hospital personnel administered a blood alcohol level test and a urine test on Marcinkowski, who then asked to speak with a doctor. Security returned with the two police officers who then "attacked" Marcinkowski and "forcibly" escorted him out of the hospital.
"After removing (Marcinkowski) from the premises, he was further injured by police," the documents said.
Tricia Brand will be paid $600,000 after she was involved in an accident with a Buffalo fire vehicle responding to an emergency call, Nowakowski said.
The accident happened in December 2013 at the intersection of East Tupper and Elm streets.
According to a witness, the fire vehicle did not come to a complete stop to make sure that cars were not coming from either direction, Rivera said.
"Even when they're responding to fire calls, they have to slow down, make sure it's safe and clear before they cross the intersection," Rivera said.
Brand suffered significant injury in the accident, Rivera and Nowakowski said. Some of her injuries may be permanent, according to documents Brand filed in State Supreme Court in 2014.
"Ms. Brand sustained substantial injuries she will endure throughout her life, causing substantial economic loss, and this claim is to assist future earning potential that she would have gained if she was employed," Nowakowski said.
