Tonawanda Speedway Arrest for Stolen Lottery Ticket Was A Mistake

According to WGRZ News, a man walked into a Speedway store in Tonawanda to cash in a winning scratch-off ticket when he was refused and told it was stolen.  What transpired after that, in my opinion, was unnecessary as the video shows Officers forcibly taking Eric Martin into custody according to WGRZ.  In my opinion, the video shows a need for change in the manner Police deal with individuals.

Although it turned out that the lottery ticket was not stolen, the Assistant Chief of Police, gave this response when asked by WGRZ's Jeff Prezal the question, "How would you characterize the behavior and conduct of police officers responding to the speedway?"

"Just from a specific legal standpoint, we satisfied all the probable cause and legal requirements to make an arrest. We had all those things in place. There was an attempt to gather information. There was confirmation from store employees that this was in fact one of the stolen lottery tickets, so that satisfied our probable cause."

Speedway is not in the clear regarding this incident and there may be a lawsuit filed by Martin.  Whether that happens or not, the NYS Gaming Commission said this, according to WGRZ News:

"All we can say is that the Commission is concerned that the Speedway clerk failed to follow standard ticket-cashing protocols. We are reviewing the incident."

Two of the Tonawanda Police Officers in the video have departmental charges filed against them for COVID related arrest procedures, according to WGRZ.