Around the Neighborhood
Amherst PD · Foot Pursuit
Domestic on Sweet Home Ends With a Suspect in the Woods[1]
Amherst officers held the air for nearly five minutes as a fleeing male crossed North French and disappeared into a backyard near the 3300 block of Sweet Home Road.
Just after 11 p.m. Saturday, Amherst PD coordinated a fast-moving foot pursuit that started near Willow Ridge and ran north along Sweet Home Road. A patrol unit reported a Dodge with "heavy front end" damage northbound on Sweet Home, approaching Dodge Street, before a suspect was seen on foot "crossing North French" and then "crossing 3300, running into the woods."[2] Dispatch called all cars to hold the air while units worked the perimeter.[3]
The incident appears to be tied to a domestic call — officers asked whether anyone was "with the victim from this domestic" and arranged a Twin City ambulance transport (TCA 241) for one party.[4] The damaged Dodge was eventually located on Sweet Home; minutes later a unit reported that the vehicle in question "hit a tree at 566 South Ellicott Creek."[5] A second party — identified on the air as Stephanie — had already left the property; Amherst asked Tonawanda or Kenmore PD to check 113 Heath Terrace for her welfare.[6]
Amherst PD · Hit and Run
Blue Caravan Bumps a Corolla at Crosby's, Then Vanishes Down Sheridan[7]
Amherst officers stepped out at the Crosby's gas station, 3652 Sheridan Drive, for a hit-and-run shortly after 3 p.m. Saturday. The complainant, in a black Toyota Corolla, told police the suspect vehicle — a blue Dodge Caravan — was "last found on Sheridan."[8] The Corolla's owner later complained of a neck injury, and Twin City was started for an evaluation.[9]
Amherst PD · Open 911
A Hang-Up From Salon 970 on Maple Sends Officers Past at Quitting Time[10]
An Erie County Sheriff's relay sent Amherst PD past 970 Maple Road on an open 911 line shortly after 3 p.m. The address is Salon 970, a hair salon; only one call had come in, and the officer agreed to "check on your way out." No follow-up traffic suggested anything found.[11]
Amherst Fire / TCA
Possible Stroke on Hampton Hill Drive Sends Main-Transit 9 Code 3[12]
Amherst Fire Dispatch sent Main-Transit Fire and TCA medics to Hampton Hill Drive, between Sheridan Drive and St. Charles Court, just before 3:30 p.m. Saturday for an 89-year-old female with possible stroke symptoms — severe headache, vomiting, and not alert.[13] Main-Transit 9-5 marked on location within minutes.[14]
Amherst PD · Welfare Check
Crisis Services Heads to 934 Robin Road for a Mother Who "Isn't Taking Care of Herself"[15]
Just after 4 p.m., Amherst PD relayed a welfare-check assist to Crisis Services at 934 Robin Road. The unit was told they'd meet a son outside, in a black Tucson, who was concerned about his mother — Sharon Hallett — who reportedly was not taking care of herself.[16]
Overheard: The Wires
Amherst PD
"Ciao." A Department Signs Off in Italian, Repeatedly[17]
If anyone keeps a tally of how Amherst PD officers say goodbye on the air, the leader this window is unambiguous: ciao. The word turns up at least five times across Saturday and Sunday — at 3:00 p.m., 4:39 p.m., 4:40 p.m. ("ciao, folks"), 5:49 p.m. ("ciao, Fofo"), and 8:08 p.m. — a small mid-Atlantic accent embedded in the Town of Amherst dispatch grid.[18]
Amherst PD · 1532
"Kids Are Playing With Welding, or Wielding, Axes"[19]
One of those transmissions where the homophone is the whole point. An Amherst PD officer — clearly mid-thought — radioed in: "kids are playing with welding, or wielding, axes." Either reading is alarming; both are mildly hilarious. Dispatch did not request clarification.
Amherst Fire Dispatch · 1507
"News at 9." Amherst Fire Dispatch Has Comic Timing[20]
Out of nowhere, mid-shift on Saturday afternoon, an Amherst Fire dispatcher signed onto the air with two words: "News at 9." No follow-up, no context. The cleanest cold open of the day.
Amherst PD · 1507 / 1508
"Loving to Hear Your Hand Up, Tom" → "10 Points"[21]
Back-to-back transmissions from Amherst PD that sound like the world's friendliest game show. Officer A: "Loving to hear your hand up, Tom." Officer B, seconds later: "10 points."[22] Tom's prize was unreported.
Amherst PD · 2305
"Fortnite Flow." (Mid-Pursuit.)[23]
In the middle of the otherwise tense Sweet Home foot pursuit, Amherst PD threw out a two-word transmission: "Fortnite flow." Whether that was a unit callsign Whisper mangled, a partner ribbing his backup, or evidence that the radio is more online than the rest of us, only the officer knows.
FRS 16 · 2233 → 2304
A Modified-Radio Klatch Convenes on FRS 16 for an Hour of Half-Sentences[24]
For almost ninety minutes on Saturday night, somebody named Stephen — and several friends — held a rambling conversation on FRS Channel 16 about modified CP-70 radios ("I had one I had modified really good"), distance ranges, and an old "Alliance up on Bristol."[25] The tone was sleepy, the receptions intermittent ("It's in dead air"), and the affection for vintage two-way gear unmistakable. FRS Channel 16 is, technically, a low-power family-radio band — these guys treated it like an after-hours ham net.
Amherst PD · 1504
"Not a Hazard. We Have a Friend Bringing Gas."[26]
The first words Amherst PD put on the air this window, three minutes into the shift: "Not a hazard. We have a friend bringing gas." A clean reminder that 90% of police radio is logistics, and most of that logistics is just figuring out where the fuel went.
Regional Blotter
BFD · Working Fire
Buffalo FD Pulls Four Engines and Three Ladders to 229 Ashley at Dawn[27]
At 4:49 a.m. Sunday, Buffalo Fire Ch.1 Dispatch went out for a reported structure fire in the vicinity of Ashton and Swinburne — Engines 22, 31, 28; Ladders 14, 15; with Rescue 5 as the FAST team.[28] Minutes later, Ch.2 Fireground corrected the address to 229 Ashley, with companies redirected accordingly.[29] Outcome unclear from radio traffic in this window.
Mercy EMS · Echo Call
19-Month-Old Unconscious on Fancher Road; Caller Reported the Child Stopped Breathing[30]
Orleans County FD-EMS Paging dispatched Mercy 30 to 4190 Fancher Road, between Powerline Road and Eastley, at 7:02 p.m. Saturday for a 19-month-old reported unconscious — the caller said the child had stopped breathing at one point, with "some eye alert at the end of the call."[31] Mercy 30 was already on a separate Orleans call in the same district when the page hit.[32]
BFD · Elevator Entrapment
Stuck Elevator at 1016 Amherst Street Draws Engine 38, Ladder 13, Rescue 1[33]
At 3:34 p.m. Saturday, BFD Ch.1 dispatched Engine 38, Ladder 13, and Rescue 1 to 1016 Amherst Street — between Delaware Avenue and Meadow Drive[*] — for an elevator entrapment.[34]
Other Calls of Note
[15:34] EAFD · Mutual Aid — East Aurora FD ran a wires/trees-down situation south of town, reporting "the trees are living hell at the end of the wires."[35]
[15:57] LancasterFD — Vehicle fire on the I-90 in the Millgrove / Bowmansville area; transmission fluid leaking, fire knocked down on arrival.[36]
[16:45] BFD — Still alarm, Level 3, for a natural-gas odor at 174 Jermaine St., Apt 1.[37]
[18:14] NC FD Dispatch — Passerby reported white smoke from the tree line behind a Niagara Falls–area parking lot; investigation, unknown injuries on a follow-up dispatch.[38]
[18:48] Orleans FD-EMS — 8-year-old Dax Payne reported with a fever of 107°, semi-alert; dispatch signalled.[39]
[21:56] Depew PD 1 — One in custody following a male-trespassing report at 242 Bellevue (a condemned residence).[40]
[21:18] Cheektowaga PD 1 — Officers worked a long missing-person search where a complainant said the subject's phone was off; drone team considered, eventually pinging the closest tower at a three-mile radius.[41]
[04:24] EAFD — Eastern EMS to Maple Terrace Apartments, 206 Maple Road #12, for a 74-year-old female reportedly in severe distress.[42]
[05:03] Orleans FD-EMS — 73-year-old female unconscious-but-responsive with snoring respirations, 4701 Angivine Road between Barry and McNamara.[43]
[05:57] BFD — Engine 31 / EMS 77 dispatched between Bailey Avenue and Suffolk for a person having a seizure.[44]