BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – Buffalo Police Benevolent Association President John Evans said a first step into repairing the relationship between the city and the police union is for an agreement on a new contract.
Evans said that officers have been working without a contract for the last year.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown agreed that a contract needs to be negotiated.
“It’s important to note that the union declared impasse,” Brown said. “It wasn’t the city that declared impasse. So now, we are in the PERB process with the union based on them declaring impasse.”
PERB, the Public Employment Relations Board, will settle any disputes between the city and the union. A complaint would be filed with the board, who acts as a third-party and govern relations.
The relationship between the city and the union has soured in recent weeks in the wake of the assault charges against officers Robert McCabe and Aaron Torgalski, who pushed 75-year-old protester Martin Gugino on June 4 outside of Buffalo City Hall as the department’s riot team cleared out Niagara Square. The push caused Gugino’s head to hit against the concrete because he fell.
Gugino has been at the hospital ever since the incident.
“There’s an immense distrust between the body and the administration in the current atmosphere,” Evans said, adding it would only take time for the relationship to mend.
Brown said the union has a “stacked deck” with negotiations and that there needs to be some “common sense” reforms that he hopes will be accomplished between the city and union.
"We will be as transparent as the law allows us to be," Brown said. "We have opened up literally hundreds of public records in Buffalo's open portal. We will continue to do that as these laws change and evolve and allow for more transparency. Buffalo will change as well."
Brown said there will be a future announcement on new police policies in Buffalo, including the city's use-of-force policy and the full contract between the city and police union. The mayor said it could take months for the law department to go through all of the additions to the original contract that was recently made public.