Buffalo, NY (WBEN) A former Buffalo Police Officer convicted of obstructing a looting probe during the Christmas blizzard a few years back was sentenced to 50 hours community service and a conditional discharge.
Prosecutors say 57 year old Cariol Horne approached one of the officers detaining two women during the investigation, demanding they be removed from the ground as they were handcuffed and seated. The women were suspected of taking stolen items from a store on Bailey Avenue, closed because of the storm.
Police say Horne prevented the officer from performing his official duties by continuing to argue with the officer, pointing her finger in his face and striking him once in the chest with her hand while refusing his commands to leaven the area.
In May 2025, a jury found Horne guilty of one count of Obstruction of Governmental Administration in the Second Degree.
Horne was fired from the Buffalo Police Department and lost her pension after she physically stopped a fellow officer from chokeholding a handcuffed suspect in 2006. In October 2020, Buffalo adopted "Cariol's Law," to require police to intervene if a fellow officer uses excessive force. In 2021, a New York court awarded her the pension and back pay she earned.