Cheektowaga, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Cheektowaga Police Department finds itself in the middle of a political, ethical and legal hot potato as the influx of migrants into Erie County has been halted following two felony sexual assault cases at a town hotel.
Appearing on the WBEN Hardline program Sunday, Cheektowaga Police Chief Brian Gould told Joe Beamer that from the beginning of the program to allow migrants to locate into the county, he has held his department and its officers to high standards.
"We had to put our political beliefs on the whole system aside," Gould said on WBEN. "I made sure my officers understood that their own bias toward the idea of having asylum seekers or not in the community isn't going to come through in their work."
The job of the department has been challenged in recent days, with two serious felony sexual charges lodged following incidents at the Best Western on Dingens Street in the town. One incident was characterized as a domestic incident involving a victim known to the alleged assailant. The most recent case involved a migrant from The Congo and a victim who is employed by an agency assisting the population in the hotel.
"It has reached the point now where I'm forced to stand up and say that we need to be doing more, we need more assistance in order to ensure the safety of our community," Gould said.
Gould noted that the seriousness of incidents occurring is becoming more escalated and officers are dealing with 'quality of life' issues involving large groups in the streets and even people lying on lawns.
Gould said he and his department were not consulted when the hotel began to be used and said it is a poor choice as it is a residential area, unlike the other hotels near the airport being used to house the migrant population.
"Nobody really lives next to the hotels up near the airport," Gould said. "The hotel on Dingens Street, there are residential homes directly across the street. There's a school directly across the street. It's really not a good setting for them."
Gould has requested the hotel no longer be used for the migrant population. He told WBEN as of late Saturday, it was his understanding the population remained at the hotel.
Security at the hotel is being handled by an outside agency and Gould is asking that the company and protocols being used be fully reviewed. Cheektowaga Police have made it a part of their checkpoints to patrol the hotels being used to house migrants.
On Saturday, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced that he had an agreement from New York City Mayor Eric Adams that no additional migrants would be sent to Buffalo from the city until at least security and safety concerns are settled.
