Buffalo police regularly use racial slur for Black people, officials testify

Charlie Specht of The Buffalo News reported on Buffalo police’s regularly use racial slurs when referring to Black members of the public revealed in NCLEJ’s litigation. Read the full article.

Buffalo police regularly use racial slurs when referring to Black members of the public.

The city’s officers receive little to no training on racial bias and profiling.

And when a citizen comes forward to make a complaint of racial discrimination, officers and supervisors don’t always forward the complaint to internal affairs investigators.

Those are the takeaways from the sworn testimony of five retired members of the Buffalo Police Department who were deposed earlier this year as part of a federal lawsuit claiming discriminatory policing against people of color on the East Side.

The deposition transcripts were obtained by The Buffalo News from lawyers who filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court four years ago. Investigative Post first reported on the transcripts.