After serving 27-years with the Alfred Police Department,
including his rise to police chief, Paul Griffith of Hornell is back in
uniform. According to a story filed by Brian McCellan of the Olean Times Herald,
the Village of Allegany in Cattaraugus County has a new full-time police chief,
as former Alfred chief Paul Griffith was tabbed to fill the role vacant for the
better part of two years. Griffith was suspended as the Alfred Chief in August
2024. According to WLEA radio, the suspension was apparently triggered by the
Chief’s recommendation that the Village hire a military veteran from the Police
Academy who, if hired, would have become the first African American part-time
police officer in Alfred’s history.
It was the first and only time in his tenure as Police
Chief that the Village Board rejected his recommendation to hire an applicant. In
the hours following their decision, Village officials lashed out at Chief
Griffith, attacking his integrity and demanding his retirement. When he
refused, the Deputy Mayor tried to push him out by placing him in a performance
improvement plan with the duties of a junior patrol officer. When the Chief
still refused to abandon his post, the Mayor placed him on leave.
Griffith told the Times Herald, “I’m just happy to have a
place to land, and this seems a pretty good place for it.”
Griffith new how to connect with the media and college
students. During one Alfred festival, Griffith, in full uniform, broke out his guitar
and jammed with students. He was also excellent at communicating with the
press. He was a frequent guest on WLEA radio in Hornell and this site was a
frequent recipient of press releases. Since his departure in 2024, there have
been few if any releases to the media.
