Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Erie County District Attorney John Flynn announced on Tuesday the arraignment of 30-year-old Dominique Thomas of Buffalo with two counts of Menacing a Police Officer for an incident that took place in the early morning hours of Monday, March 14 on Hertel Avenue.
Thomas was arraigned at Erie County Medical Center before Buffalo City Court Judge Carrie Phillips, as he recovers from six gun shot wounds after he was shot by Buffalo Police when he ran and lunged at officers responding to the 9-1-1 call.
Both counts of Menacing against Thomas are Class "D" felonies.
It is alleged that on March 14 at approximately 4:36 a.m. ET, four Buffalo Police officers responded to an apartment building on the 1900 block of Hertel Avenue near Shoshone Street. The defendant had allegedly called 9-1-1 to report that someone was threatening to kill him. When the officers arrived and entered the building, they encountered the defendant, who was holding a large knife in the stairwell.
The defendant is accused of intentionally placing the officers in reasonable fear of physical injury or death by displaying the knife and refusing multiple orders by police to drop the weapon. According to Flynn, all four officers backed out of the building and retreated into the street, as they attempted to de-escalate the situation. Thomas continued to follow the officers and approach them with the deadly weapon.
After multiple attempts to talk Thomas down, the defendant allegedly ran toward the officers with the knife in hand and was subsequently shot multiple times by two of the police officers.
"I know that one of the four officer's body cam video has been released. I actually spoke to the Buffalo Police Department last week, and encouraged them to release the body cam video as soon as possible to show the public to have full transparency here as to what exactly happened," said Flynn on Tuesday. "I think that the body cam video shows exactly what took place in the early morning hours there of March 14."
After a review by the Erie County District Attorney's Office, Flynn said they found the actions of the officers were justified. The two Buffalo Police officers who fired the shots at the defendant have been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing.
"It is, quite frankly, crystal-clear that both officers had justification for discharging their weapons due to the fact that Mr. Thomas lunged at them with a knife," Flynn explained.
In addition to the charges he faces for the incident on March 14, Thomas was also arraigned Tuesday before Judge Phillips on one count of Menacing in the Third Degree (Class "B" misdemeanor) for a separate matter.
It is alleged that on August 4, 2020, the defendant threatened to kill a doctor after being treated at ECMC. A warrant was issued for Thomas' arrest after he failed to appear for multiple scheduled arraignments.
A short time after the incident on March 14, Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia explained that police had encountered Thomas as soon as the Wednesday before the incident for a separate matter. However, Thomas was not arrested by Buffalo Police despite having the warrant out for his arrest.
Flynn speculates the reasoning for that was some confusion in the computer system that he had noticed on Tuesday.
"In the computer, it shows up as an arrest warrant in the system, not a bench warrant. So my question to city court was, why was it an arrest warrant and not a bench warrant?," Flynn said. "Apparently, after he didn't show up three times, they never issued a bench warrant. They just kind of let it go. I haven't gotten the leads on this yet - I'm going to - but what I was told was after a certain number of times, it automatically transpires into an arrest warrant and not a bench warrant. BPD [Buffalo Police Department] is the one who really issues arrest warrants, so I don't know how city court can issue an arrest warrant. It should have been a bench warrant. So that confusion right there tells me that it wasn't in the system properly. And if it's not in the system properly, then the officers a week earlier might not have seen it properly. I'm speculating here, but the bottom line is they didn't catch it."
If convicted of the highest charge, Thomas faces a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.
According to Flynn, the police officers involved in the shooting did not want charges pressed on Thomas, as they saw he was having a mental health episode at the time of the incident. However, Flynn says charges were issued to not only get Thomas in the system, but also get him the forensic examination he needs for mental health issues.
That forensic examination was ordered by the Court to assess the defendant's mental health.
Thomas is scheduled to return for both cases on Wednesday, April 6, 2022 at 2 p.m. ET.
