Amherst · Amherst PD file readout

The morning the Amherst PD read Anthony Torello's file into the radio

A repeat encounter, a hunting-knife caution, and a description that says a lot about the day the shift was expecting

The 7 o'clock hour on the Amherst–Clarence trunk Wednesday was largely one long dispatch briefing about a single individual — Anthony Torello, described by dispatch as a caller with "extensive history," possibly homeless, 10-12'd in the past, with a warning that "he's known to carry a hunting knife."

Dispatch read out related names on the OP file (Rebecca Ducat, William Ducat, Kimberly Torello, Diane Ducat, Kimberly Smith), flagged "made comments on AR-15, 220 user, paranoid, manic, 10-23 by a cop, mentioned himself lighting on fire or walking in with a gun to get police attention in the past." Non-extraditable F2 out of Virginia. Convictions for assault of a deadly weapon and reckless driving.

Officer safety note over the air at 7:40: “Just for officer safety, if we have Anthony again today, he said it'll be a fight to take him into custody”. Description broadcast: white male, average height, thin build, black buzz cut, tan complexion, gray zip-up hooded sweatshirt, gray shorts, black compression pants underneath, large black backpack. Two hours later, on the same channel, a call went out for a white male in beige laying in the grass at Whitechapel Cemetery on Niagara Falls Boulevard — an inference, not a confirmation.

Amherst · Main Street & Brantwood

Tree-service truck plows into a parked Lexus on Main — then drives off

Amherst officers rolled to 4209 Main Street, between 401s and Brantwood, at about 2:34 p.m. Wednesday after a silver Lexus SUV parked out front was struck by a tree-service truck that then left the scene.

An officer identified the offending vehicle as belonging to Asplundh Tree Service and, per the radio, the driver "took off" — but the witness "should still be on location." A property-damage report was going to be written up.

Amherst · stay-away, again

The blue sedan is back: a stay-away order comes back to Amherst PD for the second time in a week

A woman told Amherst PD Wednesday afternoon that her ex, against whom she has a served stay-away order, keeps driving past her house in a blue sedan. Dispatch confirmed on the air that officers had "dealt with her a few days ago" on the same complaint — "they both had stay-aways against each other and she was served at the time, which made her upset. There's extensive domestic history between the two."

By 2:22 p.m. an officer had reviewed the order and confirmed it had, in fact, been served against the male party. Another unit staged in front of Pet Supplies Plus looking for the mail.

Eggertsville · Maple Office Park

"20 seizures in a row" at the Maple Office Park

Eggertsville EMS was toned out at noon Wednesday to the Maple Office Park, Suite 100, on North Bailey between Argosy and Maple, for a patient dispatch described in the least clinical way possible: “the Maple Office Park, Suite 100, you had 20 seizures in a row”. Eggert 295 responded at 4955 North Bailey; the call resolved without escalation on the air.

Overheard · North Forest

"They bit the heck out of me": an officer, two aggressive dogs on a leash, and a two-hour patrol wrangling

The great morning bit on the Amherst PD channel Wednesday was a two-dog roundup on North Forest, in which the responding officer politely warned the covering unit off: “15 to 7, just be careful because they were fine with me and then all of a sudden they weren't, so I don't want you to get bit”. The dogs, "tingled together with a leash," ran eastbound on Forest, up John Muir, and were eventually cornered near a Tim Hortons.

The officer, having tried to check a collar ("looks like there's an address on Wabash, which I think is in Kenmore"), was bitten in the process. By 11:52 a.m. the dogs had been dropped at the shelter, the owner had been contacted, and — as a bonus — dispatch was informed the SPCA had "successfully got the ducks out" of the sewer at the other end of town.

Overheard · SPCA extraction

Ducklings in the drain: SPCA sends an ETA, the highway crew is standing by

Amherst PD, mid-morning, requested SPCA and highway coordination for what dispatchers eventually just called "the ducklings in the sewer." An officer relayed at 10:40 a.m.: “I called the SPCA regarding the ducklings in the sewer. They are headed there with about a 30-minute ETA. If you could have someone from Highway meet them there to take the grates off”. Ninety minutes later, dispatch closed the loop — the shelter had the dogs, and the SPCA "successfully got the ducks out."

Overheard · Main Street

"I probably will need an officer to dispatch that skunk"

Somewhere on Main in Amherst, at 12:02 p.m., an officer keyed up with the noon report the shift did not know it needed: “I can head to Main Street, but I probably will need an officer to dispatch that skunk eventually. I'll let you know when I get there”. Reader, that request has now been noted in the paper of record.

Overheard · the 990 obstacle course

A wheelbarrow at breakfast, a ladder at lunch: the 990 obstacle course

At 8:58 a.m. Amherst PD went out with a road obstruction: “Road obstruction, northbound 990 in the area of John James Audubon for a wheelbarrow in the center lane”. At 1:14 p.m., same road, different appliance: “Road obstruction on the 990 northbound after the 290 before UB exit for a large ladder in the center lane”. Somewhere on the 990 Wednesday, a contractor was traveling light.

Overheard · Amherst PD

Meet Grouch, driving a white Chrysler 200, allegedly violating a stay-away

Amherst PD dispatched a violation of an order of protection just before 11 a.m. Wednesday with a description that will haunt this newsroom: “In violation of an OP, our caller is not on location for what their 16-year-old is, they said the mother's there, shouldn't be, they also have 220 issues in the past, the subject is going to be a man named Grouch driving a white Chrysler 200”. Reader, we could not fact-check the nickname before deadline.

Overheard · 990 pedestrian

GoPro kid on a bicycle, dodging traffic on North French

Amherst PD to dispatch at 10:56 a.m.: “There's a kid on his bicycle with a camera on his head trying to dodge traffic, left being headed towards North French, northbound”. Filed under: the day's mostly-vertical citizen journalism.

Overheard · apartment 218 vs. 318

Dispatch tells the officer which apartment to visit first, and why

Amherst PD, on the noise complaint that spanned two floors: “See the complaint in apartment 218 first. Regarding apartment 318, past history indicates the subject in 318 is hearing impaired”. The correct order of operations, delivered with the calm of a shift that had already had to explain this once today.

Buffalo · 280 Porter

The Buffalo Fire bathroom vape alarm at 280 Porter

Buffalo Fire ran a commercial alarm activation at 280 Porter just after 2:12 p.m. Wednesday, sending Engine 2 and truck companies to investigate. Crews cleared it minutes later on the air: “we just investigated the bathroom, smoke has activated, there's no fire — set off by vaping”. Company back in service by 2:17 p.m.