Police Detective Breaks Down The Buffalo Public Schools Investigation | Unsubscribe Podcast 256
Quick Read
Summary
Takeaways
- ❖An independent investigation into Buffalo Public Schools (BPS) confirmed systemic policy failures and mishandling of child abduction incidents.
- ❖The investigation found that BPS legal representatives intentionally misinterpreted FERPA to obstruct the District Attorney's (DA) investigation into child abductions.
- ❖Crucial video footage related to an attempted abduction was deleted, with the report attributing it to 'system failure' rather than individual fault.
- ❖BPS leadership downplayed an attempted abduction to parents, labeling it a 'shelter in place' event instead of a 'lockdown'.
- ❖The DA's request for 'all video' footage was deemed 'too vague' by the school, leading to incomplete evidence submission.
- ❖The podcast advocates for citizen action, including forming a 'Punisher PAC' to influence local elections and organizing school walkouts, to hold BPS officials and the DA accountable.
- ❖BPS social media accounts have comments turned off, which the hosts suggest is illegal for a public entity.
Insights
1Systemic Failures and Lack of Individual Accountability
The independent investigation into Buffalo Public Schools identified 'systemic problems' in reporting policies and other procedures. However, it explicitly found 'no individual responsible for any of the actions,' including those in charge of the system. This conclusion frustrates the hosts, who argue it allows leadership to evade accountability for severe organizational failures.
The gist of the entire thing is the podcast made this allegation, the podcast was correct for like 90% of it. And then when we got to the actual case, uh, like the the probably the biggest allegation, which was the deleting of the footage, they had like a three-page very complicated, elaborate excuse for how it was a failure of their systems and nobody's actual fault. So, did they or didn't they? I had to read it four times to kind of understand what the [__] they were saying. They're they're trying to say that no individual person actually hit delete. Correct. Okay. And it it goes to that level of even the kidnapping. Well, we can't confirm this story and it's just he said, she said, and you have then nothing done with it. It's like, oh well, sorry. We tried, couldn't confirm it. Oh, we did our job. ()
2Intentional Obstruction of DA's Investigation
The investigation revealed an email from the District Attorney's office accusing BPS's legal team of 'intentional misinterpretation of law' and 'obstructing investigations into the abduction of children.' Despite this direct accusation from the DA, the investigating law firm concluded that this was not 'obstruction' in an 'arrestable form,' dismissing the DA's strong language as merely 'using the term.'
The investigating attorneys say here is a quote from an email from the district attorney's office quote the assistant district attorney to the legal team representing the school of buff the city Buffalo city schools your lack of transparency and hiding behind furpa which I'll get into in a second, is your inability to share requested subpoenaed evidence with us is obstructing our investigation. () Which the attorneys looking into the investigation, the investigating body says, although obstruction is a word commonly used in legal terms for preventing and an arrestable offense for preventing or obstructing an investigation, the district attorney's office, the lawyers saying you're obstructing my investigation. That's not actually uh obstruction. That's just like they're using the term. They're not they don't actually mean the word. They don't mean what they said they mean. ()
3Misinterpretation of FERPA to Withhold Information
BPS's legal team allegedly misused the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to refuse sharing victims' names and other critical information with the police and DA during criminal investigations, including an attempted abduction. The school's interpretation of FERPA was that it protected student information even in cases of violence, effectively hindering law enforcement's ability to investigate and notify parents.
So the school was intentionally using furpa where I I'm not I'm a stranger. I can't request your report cards or if you're tardy to class to say during a criminal investigation I can refuse to give you the names of the victim children in this crime which which is a horrible representation of what is cuz that well it makes you wonder who's the legal entity responsible for deciding what like that was their interpretation which was wrong so there's no oversight on that they could just decide that well that's why the district attorney's office said you are intent entally misusing fura and obstructing this case which is where this whole obstruction thing happens. ()
4Downplaying Incidents to Parents
During an attempted abduction, the school issued a letter to parents stating they went into 'shelter in place' (lowest threat level) rather than 'lockdown' (interior threat), downplaying the severity of the event. The investigation acknowledged this discrepancy, noting the letter contradicted leadership's claims of a lockdown.
So, I had broke that in the original video saying they called shelter in place, not lockdown, which is insane. And then I had acquired the letter they sent home to parents, which said that they went into shelter in place, which downplays the entire event to the parents. And then in the thing, they're like, 'No, we talked to the leadership. They said they did lock down blah blah blah blah blah.' And they're like, which we find hard to believe because this letter that we acquired from me clearly says that you told the parents that you went into shelter in place. ()
Bottom Line
The podcast hosts are considering forming a 'Punisher PAC' (Political Action Committee) to actively fund campaigns against corrupt local politicians and school board members, rather than supporting specific candidates. Their goal is to 'punish bad people' and hold them accountable by financially backing their opponents or running smear campaigns.
This represents a shift from traditional political engagement to a more aggressive, targeted approach using financial leverage and public pressure to dismantle perceived corruption at the local level. It could set a precedent for online communities to directly intervene in local politics with significant financial and social media power.
Individuals and groups frustrated with local government inaction could replicate this model, pooling resources to create 'punishment funds' targeting specific officials or institutions, potentially leading to increased accountability in local governance.
The Buffalo Public Schools (BPS) legal team dismissed the District Attorney's (DA) explicit accusation of 'obstruction' by claiming the DA was merely 'using the term' and didn't mean it in a legally actionable sense.
This highlights a profound disconnect and potential manipulation of language within the legal system, where one legal body (DA) accuses another (BPS legal team) of a serious offense, only for the accusation to be dismissed as semantic rather than substantive. It suggests a deliberate strategy to evade legal consequences.
This tactic could be analyzed in legal education or public policy discussions as a case study in how institutional actors use linguistic ambiguity to avoid accountability, prompting reforms in legal clarity or oversight mechanisms for public entities.
Opportunities
Merchandise sales of 'The Binder' contents for fundraising
Sell signed copies of 'The Binder' (the collection of evidence compiled by Rich) as merchandise to raise funds for independent legal action or a 'Punisher PAC' to hold corrupt officials accountable.
Key Concepts
Systemic Problem, No Individual Fault
This model describes situations where an organization acknowledges a 'systemic' failure but avoids assigning blame to any specific individual or leadership, thereby preventing accountability and maintaining the status quo. The BPS investigation exemplifies this by identifying widespread issues without holding anyone responsible.
Weaponized Bureaucracy
This model highlights how legal jargon, vague requests, and misinterpretations of regulations (like FERPA) can be deliberately used by institutions to delay, obstruct, or derail investigations, protecting themselves from scrutiny and accountability, even in severe cases like child safety.
Lessons
- Parents and taxpayers should actively engage in local elections, particularly for school board members and District Attorneys, as these positions have the most direct impact on their community and children's safety.
- Utilize Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests to obtain 911 dispatch calls (especially 'school other' categories) and compare them with police reports to identify unreported incidents of violence or assault in schools.
- Organize school walkouts or coordinated absences to exert financial pressure on public schools, as funding is tied to student attendance, forcing them to address systemic issues and accountability.
- Challenge public entities like school boards that disable comments on their official social media accounts, as this may be illegal for public bodies and prevents community dialogue.
- Support or create Political Action Committees (PACs) specifically designed to target and remove corrupt local officials, rather than just endorsing candidates, to foster accountability.
Exposing Unreported School Incidents via FOIL Requests
**Request 911 Dispatch Calls:** Submit a FOIL request for a specific time period (e.g., 6-12 months) for all 911 dispatch calls to school addresses, specifically looking for calls categorized as 'school other,' which are often used to obscure serious incidents.
**Cross-Reference with Police Reports:** Obtain the CAD (Computer-Aided Dispatch) numbers from the 'school other' calls. Then, submit a separate FOIL request for all corresponding police reports (e.g., '1375' reports) for those CAD numbers.
**Identify Discrepancies:** Compare the dispatch call descriptions (e.g., 'assault student on student') with the requested police reports. A lack of a police report for a reported assault indicates a potential failure to report or investigate, hindering accountability and victim protection.
**Publicize Findings:** Share any identified discrepancies with local media, community groups, and other parents to raise awareness and pressure school districts and law enforcement for accountability and reform.
Notable Moments
The father of a child involved in an attempted abduction at a Buffalo public school learned about the incident months later from the podcast, not from the school.
This highlights the severe lack of transparency and communication from the school system to parents regarding critical safety incidents, underscoring the systemic failure to protect and inform families.
A school board member was seen flipping off people on a Zoom call, and the investigation tried to 'sweep it under the rug' by claiming she denied it.
This exemplifies the dismissive and unaccountable attitude of some school officials, even when faced with clear evidence of unprofessional conduct, further eroding public trust.
A whistleblower teacher who exposed a broken school door leading to a stabbing incident was retaliated against, put on leave for over a year, and faced attempts to fire his entire department.
This demonstrates the severe consequences faced by individuals who attempt to expose corruption or safety failures within the school system, creating a culture of fear and silence.
Quotes
"The entire investigation is like the final paragraph and it's the investigatory body that law firm and they say we have found systemic problems in the Buffalo public schools reporting policies and other policies. Big word here systemic in the system brought apart by the system. But we find no individual responsible for any of the actions..."
"Your lack of transparency and hiding behind Furpa... is your inability to share requested subpoenaed evidence with us is obstructing our investigation."
"Although obstruction is a word commonly used in legal terms for preventing and an arrestable offense for preventing or obstructing an investigation, the district attorney's office, the lawyers saying you're obstructing my investigation. That's not actually uh obstruction. That's just like they're using the term. They're not they don't actually mean the word. They don't mean what they said they mean."
"I'm sorry, but I think those two sentences are completely incompatible with each other. Who if if a failure had occurred with your organization that allowed something bad to happen, cool. Let's fix it, right? But to be able to say that nobody nobody failed at anything, there's no no one individual actually didn't do their job. like, well, that that doesn't make any [__] sense, frankly."
"If you are a parent of any child in that school, if you are a taxpayer in the city of Buffalo, the fact that a legal team in the city school system is intentionally via the district attorney's office obstructing investigations into the welfare of your children. I don't know how you're not lighting that place on fire."
"People always pay attention to like the big sexy, you know, federal elections and things like that. They don't pay attention to things like school board and like local things which affects you the most honestly. Your local elections affect you more than anything in federal government level."
Q&A
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