Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - As the investigation into last week's officer-involved shooting in North Buffalo continues by the Buffalo Police Department, New York State's top prosecutor is launching an investigation as well.
State Attorney General Letitia James and her office assess every incident reported to it where a police officer or a peace officer, including a corrections officer, may have caused the death of a person by an act or omission. Under the law, the officer may be on-duty or off-duty, and the decedent may be armed or unarmed. Also, the decedent may or may not be in custody or incarcerated.
If the Office of Special Investigation’s (OSI) assessment indicates an officer may have caused the death, it proceeds to conduct a full investigation of the incident.
Last week, the Cheektowaga Police Department was involved in an officer-involved shooting that led to the death of 60-year-old Hugh Davis Jr. in North Buffalo.
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Former Erie County District Attorney John Flynn says the key in this investigation will be police body cams.
"All four of them should have had their body cams on, so obviously you're going to have four separate body cam footages from different angles, depending on where they were standing on this landing on this second floor of this apartment building," said Flynn in an interview with WBEN.
Flynn says the footage will show everything that happened, including comments made by all parties.
Depending on the evidence, Flynn says the probe could take some time.
One other factor in this investigation is whether the shooting happened inside or outside of the residence.
"If the incident occurred outside, you're gonna have potential of other witnesses, civilians who may have saw what happened," Flynn noted. "You're going to want to question them. You may have other video footage of ring cams at people's houses, or a camera on a 7-11, or a store that is going to show perhaps what happened."
If it was inside of an enclosed apartment building, unless there were cameras in the hallways of the apartment complex, Flynn says all you're going to have is the body cam footage and the officers' statements.
Flynn believes it's likely the investigation will clear the officers.
"I can't remember any cases, frankly, under my watch as DA, where the Attorney General found it was an unjustified shooting," Flynn said. "The vast majority of times the officers are doing the right thing. They're protecting themselves or your colleagues from harm, and they use appropriate measures. Very rarely does an officer-involved shooting [reach a] level where that officer now is going to get charged."
The four officers are all on paid administrative leave, which the Cheektowaga Police Department says is standard procedure.