Looters ransack snowbound Buffalo as cops are stuck elsewhere
Deadly blizzard conditions in upstate New York gave cover to local looters over the weekend as they robbed businesses while police were stuck elsewhere.
“I don’t know how these people can even live with themselves, how they can look at themselves in the mirror,” Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown raged to reporters Monday.
“They are the ‘lowest of the low,”’ Brown said of the opportunistic crooks.
Some businesses had their windows smashed and merchandise damaged and stolen as snow and ice pummeled the region, local TV station WRGZ reported.
Buffalo cops made a “few” arrests, according to city Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia, who added that investigations continue into other incidents after widespread reports of looting on social media.
The weather conditions limited the crime-fighting efforts of local law enforcement, with travelers’ stranded vehicles clogging roads and snow-related emergencies taking police away from their normal beats.
Gramaglia said Monday that was changing.
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“We’ve been able to throughout the storm transition our patrol officers to get back [to] their patrol efforts while we have our search and rescue recovery teams that are going out and doing the very difficult work of recovering bodies,” he said.
Brown said he was astounded by the looting.
“People who are out looting when people are losing their lives in this harsh winter storm is just absolutely reprehensible,” he said.
“They’re not looting foods and medicines, they’re just looting items that they want. So these aren’t even people in distress,” the mayor said. “These are people who are taking advantage of a national disaster and the suffering of many in our community to take what they want.”
