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Council presses police on take-home vehicles, tracking and fleet oversight
Summary
Committee members asked Acting Commissioner Macy about who receives take-home police cars, mileage and maintenance practices and whether vehicles are tracked; Macy estimated fewer than 20 take-home vehicles and confirmed there are no GPS trackers on them.
Council members questioned Acting Commissioner Macy about police take-home vehicle policy during the April 22 Committee on Police Oversight meeting.
Macy said take-home vehicles are limited to certain command staff and appointed positions — "internal affairs, our specialized team commanders, the chiefs, the deputies, and the commissioner" — and estimated "less than 20" such vehicles. He told the committee vehicles are inspected through the preventive maintenance and inspection (PMI) process, which occurs every 3,000 miles, and that inspections feed a vehicle tracker maintained by fleet supervisors.
Asked whether the vehicles have GPS trackers, Macy said no. "No," he answered when asked if there were trackers on take-home cars.
Council members signaled they will return to the issue in the budget process, asking Macy for additional numbers and more detail about how use of take-home vehicles is monitored for officers who live outside the city.
The committee opened Item 5 for discussion (a resolution asking the Buffalo Police Department to answer questions) and received materials on fleet incidents and accident statistics. Macy said accident totals in department documentation showed about 13,617 traffic incidents citywide and cited annual hit-and-run counts near 276, which he offered as context for how the department manages an active 24/7 fleet.
Next steps: council members said they will seek additional documentation during budget hearings and follow up on whether stronger mileage reporting or vehicle tracking should be required.
