Shields wins BPD commissioner appointment by 5-4 vote

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN)......By the slimest of margins, Erika Shields has won Buffalo Common Council approval to serve as the city's new police commissioner.

The council voted 5-4 to approve Shields, who is breaking the glass ceiling by serving as the city's first female police commissioner.

It took nearly one hour for the council to vote, after all nine of its members chimed in at various points to offer their insights.

The biggest issue appeared to be Shields' $250,000 salary - some $75,000 more than former commissioner and now-retired Alphonso Wright was paid last year.

"Quite frankly, I'm not able to walk into a block club meeting, or into Wegmans, without someone stopping me about her salary,:" said North District Councilman Joseph Golembek Jr.

Golembek along President Pro Tempore and Masten District Councilwoman Zeneta Everhart and Majority Leader/Ellicott District Councilwoman Leah Halton-Pope and South District and former Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon voting against Shields.

Scanlon said he was voting no in support of Everhart, who last week, said she received politically threatening phone calls unless she backed Shields. Everhart reiterated those claims again before the Shields' vote.

Voting in favor of Shields was Council President Joel Feroleto, Lovejoy Councilman Bryan Bollman, Niagara District Councilman David Rivera, University District Councilman Rasheed N.C. Wyatt and Fillmore District Councilman Mitch Nowakowski.

Just minutes before the meeting, council members learned the City of Buffalo Transition and Transformation Fund offered to pay $75,000 of Shields' salary

"Foundation money should not be used for salaries," Golembek said. "It's a slap in the face and unconscionable."

Shields, who previously served as police commissioner in Atlanta and Louisville, will be overseeing a police force with 829 officers and another 100 support staff.

Shields said she puts an emphasis on police training , transparency and public outreacch.