The Buffalo Police Department launched a looting unit that has already made eight arrests in the wake of a deadly winter storm that buried the city under snow over Christmas weekend.
“This is not about people stealing food, medicine and diapers. They are destroying stores. They’re stealing TVs, sofas, anything else they can get their hands on. They are opportunistic,” Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said at a news conference. on Tuesday.
“All you are doing is destroying the resource that you have when you need to go to the store again and buy food or whatever else you need. You are destroying your community. It will not be tolerated.”
BUFFALO POLICE INVESTIGATED LOOTTING AFTER WINTER STORM FROZEN NORTHWEST NEW YORK
Numerous stores and businesses were looted in the wake of a winter storm that engulfed Buffalo, New York, according to police.
(André Brown/Local News X/TMX)
Police are launching an anti-looting unit to crack down, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said.
(André Brown/Local News X/TMX)
Police are deploying plainclothes detectives as part of the new anti-looting unit and collaborating with the Erie County district attorney in their efforts, according to Gramaglia.
LONG ISLAND COUNTY SENDS TEAM TO HELP RESCUE EFFORTS IN BUFFALO REGION
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown skewered the looters Monday, saying “they’re not even people in distress.”
“The people who are looting when people are losing their lives in this harsh winter storm is absolutely reprehensible,” Brown said. “I don’t know how these people can live with themselves, how they can look in the mirror. They are the lowest of the low.”
More than 5 feet of snow fell in parts of Buffalo, burying homes, cars and stores throughout the city and the rest of Erie County.
Snow accumulates on the sidewalk on West Delavan Avenue in Buffalo, New York on Saturday, December 24, 2022.
(Derek Gee/The Buffalo News via AP)
A bulldozer clears the parking lot of a local grocery store in Buffalo, New York on December 27, 2022.
(Joed Viera/AFP via Getty Images)
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The death toll in Buffalo alone rose to 31 Tuesday, with more people expected to be found dead as cars are discovered. The driving ban remained in place while emergency services worked to clear the roads.
Temperatures are expected to rise through the end of the week, which could cause minor flooding as the snow melts, according to the National Weather Service.
