Buffalo mayoral candidates speak out on domestic calls and the response from police

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Are Buffalo Police doing enough to prioritize domestic calls? That's the big question at the core of a lawsuit following the murder of a woman who texted 911 begging for help, only to be found dead days later.

The time that it takes law enforcement to respond to domestic-related calls, and how they handle it when they get there, can sometimes mean the difference between life or death.

The three candidates vying to be the next mayor of Buffalo sat down with us Wednesday where they weighed in on the issue of domestic violence, and vowed to do better if elected.

Their response comes on the heels of a lawsuit that was filed that's suing the City of Buffalo, the Buffalo Police Department, and Erie County over the death of Jena MacDiarmid, a Buffalo woman who texted 911 for help, only to be found days later beaten and stabbed to death by her boyfriend.

Each candidate was horrified and saddened by what happened to MacDiarmid. They each vowed to do more to combat domestic violence if elected.

"Once domestic violence is in your household, the chances of being the victim of a murder goes up tremendously," explained Sean Ryan, the Democratic candidate for mayor of Buffalo. "You need to take these domestic violence calls so seriously because the triggers are already there, the warnings are already there."

"There seems to have been some level of failure here somewhere along the line," explained James Gardner, the Republican candidate for mayor of Buffalo. "Anytime somebody loses their life in a situation where they're calling for 911, and that help doesn't arrive, that's clearly something that you don't want to have happen, that's a failure at some level."

"We have to ask the questions, why are men committing violent crimes? Why are they abusing their spouses and girlfriends?" asked Michael Gainer, Independent candidate for mayor of Buffalo. "We're going to develop a plan for that so that we can be more responsive in cases like domestic violence."

To what extent, if any, police took that night to try and help MacDiarmid remains unclear.

WIVB News 4's attempts to sit down for an interview with Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon and Police Commissioner Alphonso Wright to talk about the response to domestic calls have been unsuccessful. As for the lawsuit, the city says it cannot comment on pending litigation.

The Buffalo Police Department sent a statement Wednesday afternoon saying when a text or call is made to 911, it goes through Erie County Central Police Services first where the priority level is determined. That information is then sent to a Buffalo Police dispatcher who designates resources based on call volume and officer availability.

WIVB News 4 reached out to Erie County who provided more information on how those calls are prioritized and what the decision making is behind which category the call falls under, either 'Domestic Trouble' or 'Domestic Violence.'

The county provided part of their 911 Training Guide/Call Type Descriptions that show that when it comes to designating domestic trouble calls, they're for calls that do not include any physical violence, for which they used an example of an argument between partners or family. As for calls that are categorized as domestic violence, there must be physical violence towards another person for the call to be prioritized as a violence domestic.

"Caution should be used with this call type; your line of questioning must determine that it is violent towards a person," Erie County's 911 training guide showed. "A person breaking things in a house is not violent, however, details like that should be noted in the call. This call type should be used for any violent situation between domestic partners/family members. If the offender is no longer at the location of the incident, the call type should be Assault 3J."

Erie County Central Police Services, which handles those dispatching responsibilities, is listed as a defendant in the lawsuit.

After the lawsuit was filed earlier this year, Erie County filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing MacDiarmid’s murder was not the county’s fault and claiming the 911 dispatch center is not a legal entity that can be sued.

If you or a loved one is dealing with domestic violence, there are resources available. Erie County has a Domestic Violence Victim Program you can reach by calling (716) 858-4630 or by visiting erie.gov/besafe.