Buffalo, NY (WBEN) Buffalo's new police commissioner had little time to get adjusted and was addressing an officer-involved shooting Monday and says, while officers did their best to quell the situation, more mental health resources are needed.
Just moments after being sworn-in as commissioner, Joseph Gramaglia was answering questions about an early Monday incident in which officers responded to Hertel Avenue for a man who claimed someone was going to kill him.
Gramaglia told reporters those officers encountered a man in a stairwell and knew quickly this was a mental health incident. "He had produced a large knife in the stairwell, something would look like a survival knife. Officers were calmly trying to speak with the individual, and they quickly recognized that they needed to exit that stairwell," says Gramaglia. As the officers exited, the man came down that stairwell and out the front door onto Hertel Avenue. "At this point, the individual lunged at officers and started running at officers where two officers discharged their weapon and struck the individual multiple times," explains Gramaglia.
Gramaglia says the officer had previously called for an ambulance to respond, "believing that they would end up taking this individual in for a mental health examine examination. Unfortunately...that ambulance was needed to treat the individual for multiple gunshot wounds." The man is at ECMC and stable condition.
Gramaglia says Buffalo Police's behavioral health team has encountered the man before. "In the recent past, our officers have also engaged this individual very recently within the last week. He's an individual that suffers from a mental health crisis. And I think this shines a light on the fact that there is a resource problem in the mental health community," says Gramaglia. He says the behavioral health team only works the day shift, so it would not have been available to assist in this case. He also believes the situation escalated to the point the team would not have been able to help in time.
Gramaglia says there needs to be resources in a plan to address those suffering from mental health issues. He says the behavioral health team proactively goes out and engages individuals they know that have a history of mental health to make sure that they're getting their treatments, they're seeing their counselors and they're taking their medication. "All that is done to get ahead of a potential episode where someone will suffer from a mental health breakdown, which then could lead to the unfortunate incident that happened," notes Gramaglia.
The commissioner says expanding the team takes funding. "There are some grants that are available, American rescue package funding that's available that will aid us in financing lengthening their hours, and either bringing them in early or having them stay later," explains Gramaglia.
Per Buffalo Police policy, the officers who opened fire are on administrative leave.
