Buffalo · East Ferry · Armed Robbery

Overnight Robbery Spree Across Buffalo's East Side Ends With a Disarmed Guard and One Suspect Caught

A running foot-and-vehicle pursuit through the East Side closed with an armed robbery at East Ferry in which a security guard was punched and disarmed.

Early this morning, beginning around 2:51 AM, Buffalo police ran a robbery pursuit across several East Side districts, with dispatch tracking a group of two men and two women fleeing on foot as units flooded the Seneca Street, Abbott, Van Rensselaer and Perry areas, according to the radio traffic.

By about 3:14 AM, dispatch tied the run to an armed robbery at 272 East Ferry, where a security guard was punched and disarmed in the altercation and the suspect fled in a black BMW northbound on Jefferson toward MLK Park, according to the traffic.

One suspect was apprehended at 641 Perry as the pursuit wound down; additional suspects remained outstanding, according to the traffic. Dispatch did not state on the air whether the others were located.

Cheektowaga · Carefree Lane · Death Investigation

A Goodbye Call to ECMC, Then a Self-Inflicted Death Dispatch Had Tried to Head Off

Hours after a man phoned the hospital to say goodbye, Cheektowaga officers found him dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot on Carefree Lane.

Yesterday afternoon, at about 3:25 PM, Cheektowaga police were sent to 42 Carefree Lane for a welfare check after a man reportedly called ECMC to say goodbye before taking his own life; dispatch noted a history at the address, according to the radio traffic.

By about 7:34 PM, an officer on scene reported the outcome over the air: “Alright, it's going to be a suicide here. Gunshot, self-inflicted it appears” An officer added that the man had “been here for a while” and the response turned to preserving the scene.

Dispatch later handled the notifications and record-keeping that follow such a call, according to the traffic.

Amherst · Maple Road · Vehicle Pursuit

Blacked-Out Durango Leads Amherst Officers on a Maple Road Chase Before Pursuit Is Called Off at Transit

A 2017 Dodge Durango whose owner is on weapons probation nearly hit a caller before slipping away with its lights off.

Early this morning, at about 3:40 AM, Amherst police began tracking a black Dodge Durango headed eastbound on Maple Road toward Transit after the driver “just almost hit one of our callers”, according to the radio traffic.

Dispatch flagged the vehicle's registered owner, identified on the air as Jaquan Nunn, as being on probation for criminal possession of a weapon, adding the caution “the RO of the vehicle is on probation for criminal possession of a weapon”, according to the traffic. Callers followed the blue 2017 Durango as it doubled back northbound on Transit Road, passing Sheridan and Maple with no tail lights on.

By about 3:46 AM, with the blacked-out SUV pulling away, a supervisor terminated the pursuit, directing units to continue north only to check whether it kept going, according to the traffic.

Hamburg · Route 179 / South Park · Injury MVA

Three-Patient Crash at South Park and Route 179 Injures Two Children and a Young Mother

A two-vehicle wreck near the South Park interchange left a 29-year-old woman with head and back pain and two minors needing evaluation.

Yesterday evening, at about 9:15 PM, Hamburg Fire dispatched town EMS to a motor vehicle accident with injuries at Route 179 at South Park, with a dispatcher relaying “Route 179 at South Park, I have a 29 year old female with back and head pain”, according to the radio traffic.

The call grew to three patients — the young woman and two minors — all requiring evaluation, drawing a mutual-aid response as crews worked the scene, according to the traffic.

Cheektowaga · Eris Street · Shots Fired

Child on the 911 Line Reports Shots Fired Inside a Cheektowaga Airbnb

A young caller told dispatch two shots were fired inside a short-term rental, with the occupants waiting outside in a vehicle.

Early this morning, at about 1:49 AM, Cheektowaga police were sent to 490 Eris Street after a child caller reported two shots fired inside an Airbnb rental, with the occupants in a vehicle outside, according to the radio traffic.

The call came amid a run of late-night trouble at the address and in the neighborhood; dispatch did not state on the air whether anyone was injured or arrested.

Olean · North 12th Street · Shots Fired

Neighbor Dispute in Olean Escalates to Reported Gunfire, Called In as an Active Threat

A caller told Cattaraugus County dispatch someone was shooting at a North 12th Street residence.

Yesterday evening, at about 8:51 PM, Olean police were dispatched to a neighbor dispute at 109 North 12th Street that a caller reported had escalated to shooting at the residence, handled on the air as an active threat, according to the radio traffic.

Dispatch did not state on the air whether anyone was struck or taken into custody.

Southtowns · East Aurora · Roadside Repair

Firefighters, Meet Your Newest Enemy: A Dead Battery at Aurora and William

The rescue crew that rescues everyone else needed a rescue of its own.

Yesterday at about 5:02 PM, a Twin District firefighter keyed up with a request that flipped the usual script. “Hey, we're stuck on the corner of Aurora and William with a broken down car — maybe we got some tools we can take the battery off and put it back together. Can you send somebody down a couple of crescent wrenches?” Somewhere out there, a couple of crescent wrenches rolled to the rescue of the rescuers.

Buffalo · Landon Avenue · Foot Pursuit

The Suspect Got Away. The Sneaker Did Not.

A stolen-car foot chase through the East Side yards left one telling piece of evidence behind.

Yesterday at about 9:53 PM, Buffalo officers were sprinting through backyards off Landon Avenue after a stolen car, chasing three men in all black. Then came the field note that told you exactly how the sprint was going: “One of these guys is going to be shoeless. There's a pair of J's in the street”

Cheektowaga · Fenced In

No Gate, No Problem: A Cheektowaga Officer Takes the Scenic Route

When the only way in is up and over, up and over it is.

Yesterday at about 9:05 PM, a Cheektowaga officer summed up the obstacle and the solution in a single breath: “The only way through is over the fence. I had to climb it” No word on the dismount.

Lancaster · A Matter of Respect

The Most Eloquent Refusal on the Wire: An Ambulance Crew Files a Grievance, Then Takes the Call

Dispatch got the run — and a small lecture on individualism.

Yesterday at about 8:56 PM, handed an assignment they hadn't asked for, a TransAm Ambulance crew delivered the overnight's finest expression of professional dignity before pressing on anyway: “So I can do it, but I don't appreciate that this is just being thrust upon me with zero discourse. That's not showing particular respect to my individualism”

Jamestown · Whiskey Charlie

Phonetic Alphabet, Meet the Beer Aisle

A Jamestown dispatcher couldn't resist the pun the call sign served up.

Yesterday at about 9:45 PM, working an intersection assignment on North Main, a Jamestown dispatcher read back the location, tagged it in the phonetic alphabet, and then said the quiet part out loud: “38 North Main and Crossman, I'll do that Whiskey Charlie. Sounds like beer”

Amherst · The Boulevard

Kitchen Fire Spreads to Ceiling on The Boulevard, Family of Three Aided by Red Cross

Yesterday at 3:51 PM, Amherst Fire units responding to 480 The Boulevard[*] [heard: Cape and Boulevard] radioed a kitchen fire with extension into the ceiling, laying 400 feet of supply line to get water on it.

Crews reported no further extension through the rest of the house, which was ventilated after the fire was knocked down; two adults and a child were assisted by the Red Cross, and dispatch logged the damage at $10,000 to the structure and another $10,000 to its contents before units cleared the scene.

Amherst · Cambridge Square

Neighbor Reports Hour-Long Domestic Dispute After Woman's Phone Taken

Yesterday at 7:13 PM, Amherst police dispatch sent a unit for a welfare check at 1 Cambridge Square, Apartment B, after a neighbor called to report hearing a physical domestic argument from that apartment for the past hour.

The neighbor told dispatch the woman inside wanted to call police herself but that the man had taken her phone; the call was closed a few minutes later as a radio-sheet report only after the responding officer was unable to make contact.

Amherst · Heron Drive

Man Breaks Girlfriend's TV, Takes Her Laptop and Flees Heron Drive Apartment

Yesterday at 5:47 PM, Amherst police were sent to a domestic at 600 Heron Drive, Apartment 611, where a hysterical caller identified as Cheryl Penns reported a man had left in a gray Chevrolet Malibu after taking her laptop.

Units broadcast a plate for the Malibu and continued to the scene; by 5:50 PM dispatch relayed that the male half had already left and that the woman said he'd broken her new TV, though she declined to give responding officers his name.

Town of Tonawanda · Crestmount

Babysitter Calls Police After Mother Fails to Return for Children

Just before 9:39 PM yesterday, Tonawanda PD dispatch sent Route Patrol units 6 and 51 to 285 Crestmount, Apartment 143, where a man told police he had been babysitting for a friend and the child's mother had not returned to pick up the kids as planned.

Dispatch said the man had called the woman repeatedly, and around 7:30 AM she told him she “was on her way” — but she still had not shown up nearly two hours later when officers were sent to check.

Town of Tonawanda · Greenhaven

Six-Year-Old Girl Hurt, Possible Broken Arm, in Playground Assault

Yesterday just after 3:40 PM, Tonawanda PD dispatch relayed a call from 222 Greenhaven, between Sunrise and Glendale, reporting that a six-year-old girl had been assaulted at a playground and brought home by her mother with what dispatch described as a possibly broken arm.

Grand Island · Working Fire

Grand Island Fire Empties Apartment Building, Draws Mutual Aid From Mainland

Yesterday at 6:57 PM, Grand Island's 9-1 fire dispatch sent companies to a fire at a multi-unit building crews referred to on the air as Sheridan Park; within a minute the incident commander reported a large number of residents already outside the affected wing, with a primary search still to be done.

Crews knocked down some remaining embers with the engine's water tank while a search team started on the third floor and worked its way down, and command called for additional manpower as more companies — including Engine 3, Engine 4 and a truck company — were sent to the scene; over Grand Isle Fire Control, mutual aid crews crossing from the mainland were told to switch onto the island's own channel.

By 7:03 PM, command radioed that the primary search was complete and everybody had been evacuated safely; much of the mutual aid was already being released and headed back over the bridge within minutes (““we're back on the mainland already””), while a request for a thermal imaging camera around 7:05 PM suggested crews were still working through overhaul.

Akron · Carbon Monoxide

Akron School Basement Reads Over 200 PPM Carbon Monoxide, Multiple Companies Called

Yesterday at 8:05 PM, Amherst Fire dispatch toned out a detector activation at 47 Bloomingdale Avenue, the Akron Central School District building between Akerson Avenue and Indianola Avenue, sending Akron and Newstead units.

By 8:12 PM, Akron's chief officer on scene reported a carbon monoxide reading over 200 parts per million in the basement and asked for a dedicated channel to run the incident; dispatch assigned channel 3, and additional Akron and Newstead units, along with an ambulance, continued responding to the school as operations shifted off the main dispatch channel.

Buffalo · Niagara Street

Homeless-Ministry Founder in Mental Health Crisis on Niagara Street

Just before 10 PM yesterday, Buffalo police units 42 and 41 were sent to Niagara Street on a report of a suicidal man, after a caller who said he runs a homeless ministry feeding people in need told dispatch a man there was suicidal.

Dispatch named the man on the radio as a person identified as Roberto Rodriguez, describing him as hearing voices and schizophrenic; units cleared the call with no further update broadcast on the channel.

Buffalo · Broadway & Wilson

Woman in Pink Coat Tries to Stab Passersby Near Broadway and Wilson

Just before 11:16 PM yesterday, Buffalo police dispatch put out a knife call at Broadway and Wilson, describing a woman in a pink coat who was “trying to stab people”.

Patrol units, including cars 431, 442, 21 and 22, converged on the intersection, and by 11:18 PM officers on scene were waving passing traffic to slow down near the corner as they worked the call; no arrest or injury was reported on the radio before the channel moved on.

Buffalo · McCamley Street

Nine Shots Fired on McCamley Street, Suspect and Target Both Flee

Just after midnight, Buffalo police dispatch sent units to 129 McCamley Street on a report of shots fired outside; officers noted two separate callers, one of whom said they heard “nine shots” and saw a person running toward South Park after the gunfire.

Officers relayed that the suspect who had the firearm ran south on Taylor Avenue, while the man he had been shooting at ran north toward a nearby church; both were described only as tall Black men dressed in all black, and neither had been located by the time the channel moved to other calls.

Buffalo · Custer Street

Vulnerable Woman With Head Trauma History Found After Screaming, Vanishing From Custer Street

Just after 8:35 PM yesterday, Buffalo police dispatch put out a missing vulnerable person alert for 66 Custer Street, Apartment 208 — a 54-year-old Black woman who was heard screaming before she disappeared, described as wearing a red, green and brown shirt-dress with sneakers; dispatch noted she has a history of head trauma from a previous injury.

A male caller waiting outside told officers he believed someone had taken the woman; units 4-10 through 4-13 were sent to assist, and no resolution was broadcast on the channel before it moved to other calls.

Buffalo · East Ferry Street

Security Guard Punched, Disarmed of Gun in East Ferry Street Fight

Just after 3:14 AM, Buffalo police radio dispatched officers to 272 East Ferry Street on what began as a fight call and was quickly upgraded to a report of a gun.

Responding units relayed that “someone was punching a security guard and he was disarmed in a fight and maced”, adding that the guard was injured and that no one on scene knew where the suspects had gone.

Dispatch described the suspect fleeing northbound on Jefferson Avenue toward Martin Luther King Park — a tall Black man in a red shirt and pants with red trim who left the scene in a black BMW — and officers later asked radio to confirm with A District where the victim's gun had ended up.

Cheektowaga · Alpine Place

Unresponsive Woman on Alpine Place Confirmed an Unattended Death

Just before 9:00 PM yesterday, Cheektowaga fire and police units were sent to Alpine Place for a report of an unresponsive woman; the call was later confirmed on the air as an unattended death.

Cheektowaga · French Road

Ten People Fighting Outside French Road Bar Draws Cheektowaga Police

At 3:50 AM, Cheektowaga police dispatch sent units to Ying's Wings and Things at 1460 French Road after a caller reported roughly 10 people physically fighting outside the bar.

By 3:53 AM, dispatch flagged a second call from the same location describing what had turned into “an open line of arguing”, though no arrests or further details were broadcast on the channel.

West Seneca · Hideaway Golf Range

Husband Finds Wife Dead in Trailer at Hideaway Golf Range

Just after 4:13 PM yesterday, West Seneca police dispatch sent Unit 18 to 161 Cloverleaf, the Hideaway Golf Range, after a caller believed to be the property's owner reported a deceased elderly woman inside one of the trailers on the grounds, with her husband still there beside her.

Dispatch said it would try to get another unit out to assist; minutes later the call was marked handled on the radio, with no further detail broadcast.

Hamburg · Hit and Run

Driver Strikes Hamburg Patrol Car, Flees With Possible Unconscious Occupant

Around 9:22 PM yesterday, a driver struck a Hamburg patrol car and fled the scene; dispatch relayed that the fleeing vehicle may have had an unconscious occupant inside, and units were sent out searching the area.

No arrest or further location was broadcast on the channel before it moved to other calls, including a separate crash a few minutes earlier that had left Southwestern Boulevard down to one lane.

Niagara County · River Road

Cardiac Arrest on River Road Draws Multiple Mutual-Aid Units

At 1:22 AM, Niagara County fire dispatch toned out a call for a cardiac arrest at 2440 River Road, between Sunset and Winslow, reporting a 40-year-old woman with CPR already underway.

Dispatch repeated the call minutes later, paging Third Center and Frontier mutual-aid companies to the address and noting an ALS crew was already en route to take over the ambulance run; no outcome was broadcast on the channel during the window.

Dunkirk · Lakeshore Drive

Two-Vehicle Crash at Dunkirk Credit Union Leaves Possible Serious Injuries

Yesterday at 4:29 PM, Dunkirk Fire dispatched Engine 3 on a BLS priority response to a two-vehicle crash with unknown injuries in front of the Greater Chautauqua Federal Credit Union at 57 Lakeshore Drive West, between Swan and Dove.

Engine 3 arrived on scene minutes later and radioed that the crash had possible serious injuries, and a second unit followed shortly after; dispatch called for the next two available transport units along with an ALS crew.