BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – The City of Buffalo has reached a settlement with the estate of former Buffalo Police Officer Craig Lehner, who tragically died four years ago during a training mission in the Niagara River.
The city has agreed to pay $1.275 million to the Lehner family.
Lehner, 34, was part of the department's underwater rescue team during the mission on October 13, 2017 when his tether got stuck on a boulder under the water. The tether eventually snapped. Lehner's body was recovered four days later.
"We know that nothing ever replaces a life," Common Council President Darius Pridgen said following the council's approval of the claim. "I think that it is so important we encourage not only his family but the other men and women who have trained, who have given and risked their lives for the safety of so many people. I just want to make sure his family knows this council continues to grieve with them and continue to support whatever change is made on the underwater rescue team to keep people safe both in the water and our heroes who may have to go in the water."
Niagara District Councilman David Rivera, a former police officer, said the trainings with the rescue team continue, though the department has now taken more precautions.
"We want to make sure any officer who enters the water is protected with the best equipment and the best training," Rivera said. "We never want to go through what happened in this incident. Certainly, our hearts go out to the family. The police officers that were there and the trauma they felt when they were trying to rescue him. I could only imagine the panic. The officers were unable to do anything at that point."
Rivera said the settlement is not about money. He said it's about the safety.
Prior to joining Buffalo Police, Lehner served in the US Army. During his time with the police department, he won a Mayoral Award for Excellence. He was posthumously promoted to lieutenant.
