Buffalo, NY (WBEN) As Buffalo Police look into a sniper's rifle that dropped from a roof during Sunday's St. Patrick's Day Parade, one former department leader and law enforcement expert believes the dropped weapon was the result of a freak accident.
Former Buffalo Police Captain Jeff Rinaldo doubts the rifle was unattended on the roof. "It was more than likely a situation where the gun was set up, the officer turned his or her back. And unfortunately, the gust of wind caught it," believes Rinaldo.
He notes the officers with sniper rifles have an important role to play. "The officers are performing a very, very important function called 'overwatch', where they're able to keep an eye on the totality of the crowd, and assist ground officers with responding to any emergencies that occur, as well as being able to quickly address any critical threats that arise," Rinaldo explains.
Could tethers be used to prevent a repeat? He says there are tethers out there for weapons where officers are going to be in a crowded situation, and a rifle can be tethered to their uniform. "But in a situation like this, where obviously those officers are not in the immediate vicinity of the general public, and given the nature of that type of weapon and what it's designed for, it generally wouldn't be tethered," notes Rinaldo.
Rinaldo believes Buffalo Police will be looking at this incident and devising plans to, as best they can, prevent it from ever happening again, and utilizing this as a training issue and moving forward.
No one was hurt in the incident.
