Three Buffalo Police Officers Charged with use of Excessive Force

    BUFFALO, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has returned a five-count indictment charging Gregory Kwiatkowski, 49, Raymond Krug, 36, and Joseph Wendel, 37, with using excessive force and conspiring to use excessive force while acting under color of law. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J. Campana, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment, on May 31, 2009, defendant Kwiatkowski, a Buffalo Police Lieutenant at the time, used excessive and unnecessary force following the arrest of four young men in Buffalo. Defendants Krug and Wendel are accused of shooting one of the individuals with a BB gun while this young man was seated in the police car, handcuffed next to another of the arrested individuals. All three officers are alleged to have continued to use excessive and unnecessary force when the officers and arrested young men arrived at the police station for processing. 

Gregory Kwiatkowski retired from the Buffalo Police Department in 2011.

The indictment is the culmination of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

***If the public has any information regarding potential civil rights violations, please call the FBI Civil Rights Tip Line at 716-843-1796. All information will be kept confidential.