Agreement to Proceed With Processing Buffalo Police Department Candidates

In a meeting today between U.S. District Judge John Curtin, U.S. Justice Department officials (DOJ), City of Buffalo Corporation Counsel Alisa A. Lukasiewicz and attorneys for the NAACP, an agreement was reached to proceed with processing Buffalo Police Department candidates.

The parties in the meeting agreed to use the results of the April 2007 police officer exam, finding that there was no discriminatory impact from the test. The DOJ representatives stated that the test is lawful and that the Department will not slow down the City in the processing of candidates.

I am pleased that this agreement will enable the City to proceed with our plan to hire new police officers.
It is our hope that we can now add approximately 60 new officers to the BPD and ultimately reach 100 new police officers in the not-too-distant future.
It is our expectation that the new class of police officers will commence in January, with the new recruits spending six months in Police Academy training. Twenty-four former Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority police officer candidates, if they passed the test, will be required to undergo a four-week training process that includes one week in the field.
This is a successful outcome to a process that included almost 2,800 individuals taking the police exam in April. It will enhance my Administration’s commitment to adding more police officers to the Buffalo Police Department, which will strengthen our ability to serve and protect the residents, businesses and visitors of Buffalo.