Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Three 20-year-olds were arrested Monday by Buffalo Police for leading law enforcement on a distanced pursuit after a vehicle they crashed on the Church Street exit off the I-190 was reported stolen in the Town of Amherst.
The Buffalo Police Department's stolen car detail called in the assistance of the Erie County Sheriff's Air One helicopter to track down the stolen Dodge Durango that had fled patrol officers after it was pulled over for switched plates.
"The vehicle took off from officers, they did not pursue it," said Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia on Tuesday. "One of our lieutenants then was able to piece together through some of our technology, license plate readers, what that vehicle was, even though it had a switched plate. We we're able to get that vehicle back on the radar, the Erie County Sheriff's helicopter located that vehicle, began using their cameras, followed the vehicle, called out the coordinates. We had a detective that was up in the helicopter with the Erie County Sheriffs."
With the assistance of Air One above, it allowed officers on the ground to stay informed of the whereabouts with the vehicle rather than getting involved through the busy streets and highways in the City of Buffalo.
"The helicopter called out the directions. At some point, the vehicle wound up on the 190, exited at the Church Street off ramp," Gramaglia detailed. "The vehicle was traveling too fast to negotiate the turn and crashed into the wall. Three occupants exited the vehicle and ran. Again, with the use of the helicopter pre-positioning our patrol officers, we were able to take all three in custody without any further issue. Three individuals, all 20-years-old, were all taken into custody and were charged."
Gramaglia says Air One was able to spot the stolen vehicle at around 4 p.m. ET, and followed the vehicle from up-above for about 10 minutes before it had crashed. No injuries were reported as a result of the crash or the pursuit shortly after.
According to Gramaglia, the Buffalo Police Department and Erie County Sheriff's Office have been partnering over the last several months to further crack down on stolen vehicles across the city, and have been successful in bringing the number of stolen vehicles down.
"In June, we had probably our highest number of stolen cars on record. July, we saw an almost 28% decrease from the month of June in stolen cars. Now in the month of August, we were down almost 20% from the month of July," Gramaglia detailed. "We are starting to see those numbers go in the right direction, but as I've said before, the numbers are still too high. But we're gonna keep doing what we're doing to try to bring those numbers down."
According to Gramaglia, he believes the number of stolen cars in the city has eclipsed 2,200 vehicles since last year. It is a 178% increase from where the city was last year right around this time.
When it comes to calling on the assistance of Air One to help pursue these stolen vehicles, Commissioner Gramaglia says it is a department policy to not pursue a stolen vehicle if the driver happens to take off on officers.
"We are going to attempt to stop the car and, believe it or not, sometimes people do stop, but if they're going to turn into a pursuit, then they're going to back off," he said. "We're going to do our best using our own observations, our technology, and hopefully the helicopters up on a detail, where we can then parallel. Our policy does allow for paralleling, staying on side roads, trying to keep in the area. I've been asked before, 'Well, we still see police cars driving with their lights and sirens on.' That's what we're going to do, we need to try to get ahead of areas as long as we're not actively pursuing that car. We're trying to get around and try to get to areas where, at some point, they are going to bail out, and then we're going to move in and we're going to go after them on foot."
Gramaglia adds the teamwork between the Erie County Sheriff's Office and other law enforcement agencies is extensive to not just cut down on the number of stolen cars in the City of Buffalo, but also to ensure the safety of residents.
"We partnered with the Erie County Sheriff's Department, we partner with the New York State Police, we've had their helicopter up at times as well. It's a lot of coordination," Gramaglia said. "The City of Buffalo has put a significant investment, the mayor has been very determined on technology for crime fighting with the purchase of the fixed license plate readers. We've set up numerous intersections around the city, and we've solved homicides with those license plate readers, and we solve larcenies. It's a wide range of crimes that we'll use, a lot of intelligence gathering on vehicles that are involved in crime. The same thing goes with the stolen cars: Car hits off of that, some of our members that have that instant access, will get an instant notification to their department-issued cell phone where then they'll be able to call that out and get it to who's in the area, and the helicopter, if it's up."
And having the ability to utilize Air One and even the New York State Police helicopter is not always for the pursuit of stolen vehicles across the city.
"If there's another crime that occurs - could be a robbery, could be shots fired, could be anything - it's invaluable having that eye in the sky to be able to get over to an area and call that out. So having the Erie County Sheriff as a partner, we've been very close partners for a long time, our agencies working together, the same thing with the State Police. Having that ability to have that, it really is a tremendous asset for the citizens."
More from Commissioner Gramaglia's press conference on Tuesday is available in the player below:
