A Buffalo Police Officer with a documented pattern of misconduct has been cited by the New York State Attorney General’s Office following a comprehensive review of citizen complaints. Officer Justin Ayala, 39, is the third Buffalo officer in less than a year to be formally cited for repeated abuse of authority by the Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative Office, a watchdog agency created after the 2020 death of George Floyd.
Between October 2021 and August 2023, Ayala was the subject of 14 complaints from different individuals. State investigators examined five of those cases in detail, concluding that Ayala repeatedly used excessive force and engaged in other inappropriate behavior.
Incidents included punching a man held by other officers, pepper-spraying a handcuffed woman in a patrol car, and verbally berating a teenage girl and her mother during a domestic dispute response…