Delano still fighting for his job

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - A Buffalo police cold case detective who's fighting to keep his job spent another day at a court hearing Saturday.

He says he was only trying to seek the truth, but suspended police detective Dennis Delano is still fighting for his job. His attorney argued that his client did nothing wrong by releasing crime scene video to a media outlet back in 2006. Steven Cohen says other stations, including channel 4 obtained the video before Delano handed it out.

Delano's attorney, Steven Cohen, said, "it was made available but editorial powers didn't air more than a moment or two about it but it was enough to show that this wasn't released for the very first time by Dennis Delano.

 

But channel 4 actually did not have the tape before, like Cohen says.

 

It's video of the 1993 crime scene where 13-year-old Chrystallynn Girard was killed. The video also showed a polygraph test taken by suspect Dennis Donahue.

 

The city attorney says the former detective still went against department policy by releasing evidence in the first place.

Just because someone else released it doesn't excuse Det. Delano for disobeying our departments orders," said Diane O'Gorman, Buffalo City Attorney.

 

At one point during the hearings Cohen accused two veteran detectives of being liars after they said it was still an open case.

 

 

 

The DA's office made it clear, you will not investigate this case or you will incur our wrath," said Cohen.

 

He adds the detective did not jeopardize any defendants to a fair trial.

 

 

Cohen continues, "the department knows that this case was closed and closed tight and there's nobody they can arrest."

 

But Diane O'Gorman says that homicide cases are never closed and the detective knows that.

 

He has every right and every capability to seek the truth within our guidelines," said O'Gorman.

 

 

The disciplinary hearing continues on Monday the 16th.