A Grand Jury's Verdict: Officer Cleared in Fatal Buffalo Shooting, But Questions Linger

Buffalo, New York — The wheels of justice, they turn sometimes slowly, sometimes with a decisive, unyielding hum. And this week, in a somber but not entirely unexpected turn of events, a grand jury in Erie County has cleared Buffalo Police Officer Aaron T. Salter Jr. of any criminal wrongdoing in the tragic shooting death of Jose G. Rodriguez back in April. It’s a decision that, for some, brings a measure of closure; for others, perhaps, it simply amplifies the ache of loss, a stark reminder of lives irrevocably altered.

You see, the incident unfolded on a quiet-enough Sunday night, April 28th, when officers were dispatched to a domestic disturbance call on Shirley Avenue. The initial report? Troubling, to say the least: Jose Rodriguez was allegedly assaulting his girlfriend. A situation, in truth, fraught with peril for all involved, officers included.

What transpired next, well, it’s been pieced together through witness accounts, officer statements, and crucially, body camera footage. Officer Salter, along with Officer Amanda S. LaBelle, arrived on the scene. And then, as these things often do, the situation escalated. Rodriguez, it seems, fled from the initial apartment, only to dart into another. Salter, following closely, found himself face-to-face with Rodriguez in a kitchen. And there, in Rodriguez’s hand, was a knife. A terrifying sight, one can only imagine, for any officer.

Officer Salter, according to the official findings, issued multiple commands — urgent, unequivocal shouts — for Rodriguez to drop the weapon. But Rodriguez, for reasons we may never fully comprehend, did not comply. Instead, he advanced. And in that terrifying, split-second calculus of life and death, Salter discharged his firearm, striking Rodriguez multiple times. Rodriguez was rushed to ECMC, but, sadly, he succumbed to his injuries.

Acting District Attorney Michael J. Flaherty Jr., speaking after the grand jury’s decision, underscored the legal framework at play. The jury, he explained, found that Officer Salter’s use of deadly force was, in fact, justified. New York State law, after all, permits an officer to use such force when they reasonably believe it’s necessary to defend themselves or another person from imminent death or serious physical injury. And in this particular case, considering the immediate threat of a man wielding a knife and advancing, the grand jury apparently agreed that those conditions were met.

It’s worth noting, too, that the 911 call from Rodriguez’s girlfriend had specifically mentioned him being armed with a knife. This detail, one can only surmise, would have undoubtedly shaped the officers' approach and heightened their alert. Salter, who joined the Buffalo Police Department in 2017, has now, tragically, been involved in one of the two fatal police shootings the city has seen this year. Each incident, of course, prompts its own agonizing review, its own questions, its own search for understanding in the aftermath of violence.

This outcome, the grand jury’s decision, means no criminal charges will be filed against Officer Salter. It marks the conclusion of one chapter, certainly, but for the families involved, and for the community, the echoes of that April night will surely resonate for a very long time indeed. It’s a somber end to a very difficult inquiry, leaving us all, perhaps, with a bit to ponder about the thin line between duty and disaster, and the split-second decisions that define them.