Amherst, N.Y. (WBEN) - Amherst police officials released body camera footage Thursday of an officer-involved shooting that took place at a residence on N. Bailey Avenue this past Saturday.
According to Amherst Police Chief Scott Chamberlin, officers were dispatched to a residence in the 4800 block of N. Bailey Avenue for a domestic disturbance at around 4:55 p.m. As Lt. Matthew Lobuglio and Officer Aiden Vangelov were responding to the incident, they were made aware that the male subject, 26-year-old Rayquell Grant, had two active warrants.
"They attempted to make contact with Mr. Grant by yelling into the residence for him. Very shortly thereafter, Mr. Grant exits the rear window of the residence armed with two knives, and he charges at Officer Vangelov. Within two seconds, Officer Vangleov is on the ground and has been stabbed," explained Chief Chamberlin during the briefing. "Lt. Lobuglio, who's at the side of the residence, hears the commotion in the backyard and starts to head that way.
"Lt. Lobuglio pulls out his taser and he activates it. Simultaneously, with the Lt. Lobuglio using the taser, Officer Vangelov kicks the subject, and he kicks him backwards. He loses balance, Mr. Grant regains his feet, he does not retreat, he does not drop the knives, and he assumes an aggressive stance. Both officers then transition to their firearms, and they used them to stop the threat of imminent deadly force against them."
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Chamberlin adds a total of five shots were fired from both officers. From the time that Grant left the window of the house to the time officers used force against him, it totaled just six seconds.
Immediately upon stopping the threat, officers initiated efforts to render first aid to Grant and an ambulance was requested. Grant was transported to Erie County Medical Center with gunshot wounds to his side and chest. Chief Chamberlin says he was last known to still be in serious condition.
Officer Vangelov was stabbed twice by Grant, once in the arm and another in his shoulder, but was able to remain on scene to help in the first aid response. He was later treated and released from ECMC, and continues to recover at home. He is expected to return to duty as soon as he's recovered.
"The officers involved in this unfortunate incident were put in a very difficult position, and we value all life. It's unfortunate when anyone is injured, but the person's actions on that day left the officers with no choice but to defend themselves," Chief Chamberlin said. "The officers were faced with an unprovoked, deadly physical force incident, they performed professionally under very difficult circumstances. This department fully backs the actions that they took on that day, and we're proud of how they performed."
Grant was arraigned Friday afternoon and is facing charges of:
- One count of Attempted Murder in the First Degree (Class “A” Felony);
- One count of Attempted Assault in the First Degree (Class “C” violent felony);
- One count of Assault in the Second Degree (Class “D” violent felony).
If convicted of the highest count, Grant faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The Erie County District Attorney's Office says Grant was wanted on a bench warrant for failure to appear in court on a pending domestic violence-related case. On April 29, he was arraigned in Amherst Town Court on one count of Criminal Contempt in the First Degree (Class “E” felony), one count of Obstruction of Governmental Administration in the Second Degree (Class “A” misdemeanor) and one count of Harassment in the Second Degree (violation).
At the arraignment, the prosecutor with the District Attorney's Office requested that Grant was to be remanded. He was released under supervision and an order of protection was issued on behalf of the victim.
Then on June 15, a bench warrant was issued after the defendant failed to appear for a scheduled court proceeding.
Also, on Sept. 11, 2024, defendant pleaded guilty to Criminal Contempt in the Second Degree in the Town of Amherst Court and was sentenced to three years probation. On June 15, an Amherst Town Judge issued a warrant for defendant’s arrest due to a Violation of Probation.
According to Chamberlin, a family member of the victim was the person who contacted Amherst Police about the dispute. When officers arrived, they discovered Grant was facing a parole violation, as well as an arrest warrant with several charges on it.
Chamberlin credits both officers for their actions in that short period of time.
"Lt. Lobuglio used his taser and transitioned to his firearm, and that was within about four seconds that all that happened. Officer Vangelov had nowhere to go. He was backed up, behind him was a fence and so he had nowhere to go. You can see in the first slide that he had his hand up to say, 'Hey, back off!', trying to defend himself, but he didn't even have a chance to get his gun out in two seconds. So he fell back and was able to kick Mr. Grant away, which I think obviously helped the situation as well. They both performed amazingly. In a six-second time period, a lot of things happened, and they both performed very, very well."
Chamberlin feels this experience can be a valuable learning tool for officers currently on the force, as well as for other future officers in the department.
"Any situation that we have, we try to use it as a learning experience. Obviously you want excellence, you want to do things well. You have to learn from things, and they performed amazingly in this situation, in a very difficult situation. And other officers can use this as an example of how to perform under stressful situations," he said. "Obviously we'll use this and try to make sure that the officers all can see how this is a very good reminder of how dangerous our job is."
Lt. Lobuglio is a 14-year veteran on the job, while Officer Vangelov has four years on the force.
As for Grant, he was the subject of an incident nearly one year ago at the same residence in Amherst that brought about a large police presence.
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