A former Buffalo police lieutenant has been sentenced to four months in prison for violating the civil rights of four teenagers in 2009.
Gregory Kwiatkowski, 54, of Buffalo, NY, was convicted of deprivation of rights under color of law and sentenced to four months in prison by Senior U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny.
The conviction stems from a series of incidents that occurred on May 30-31, 2009, while Kwiatkowski was working the overnight shift as a lieutenant with the City of Buffalo Police Department.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Kwiatkowski used unlawful and unreasonable force on each of the four occupants at the scene, forcibly pushing their heads and upper torsos into the vehicle they were being detained in.
Kwiatkowski admitted to using excessive force and agreed in his plea agreement with the government that his actions deprived the suspects of their constitutional rights to be free from unreasonable seizure and to due process of law.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Gary Loeffert, Special Agent-In-Charge, and the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Byron Lockwood.
Kwiatkowski was also sentenced to one year supervised release, including four months of home detention.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango handled the case.
Contact: Barbara Burns, (716) 843-5817, (716) 551-3051.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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